


You're a Weirdo, But I Like That

by ShimmeringMist



Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Anxiety Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Crossdressing, Crying, Dark Past, Depression, Developing Friendships, Drama, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Firsts, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Jealousy, Language, Light Angst, Loss of Parent(s), Major Original Character(s), Mental Health Issues, POV Female Character, POV Original Character, POV Third Person, Past Character Death, Past Child Abuse, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Reverse Harem, Romantic Comedy, Secrets, Sexual Humor, Sexual Tension, Slice of Life, Slow Burn, Spoilers, Strangers to Lovers, Suggestive Themes, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-26
Updated: 2019-03-01
Packaged: 2019-03-24 04:11:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 45,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13803141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShimmeringMist/pseuds/ShimmeringMist
Summary: Her voice dropped to a whisper, “Let's have sex,” she blurted out.Yoosung practically choked on his own spit, his face becoming a dark shade of red. “What?!”A story in which two dorks fall in love; the potato chips of fate have brought them together.Warning!:Contains major spoilers and minor triggering themes, read at your own risk.





	1. I Was Just Kidding, I Swear!

**Author's Note:**

> I felt like the pacing is a bit fast, I'm honestly not satisfied with everything but I'm not sure how to correct it. Please feel free to leave some helpful criticism, I would greatly appreciate it (Try not to be too rude, I want to improve). Also if you don't like Lilly, her family or her friends at all; please feel free to tell me some things that would make them feel more like three-dimensional characters (or things I should leave out). Also if any canon characters are too OOC, don't be afraid to inform me about that too. Thank you and enjoy.

Lilly's fingers halted their descent on the keyboard of her laptop, the glow of the lights behind each key dimming due to inactivity. With a groan, she stretched her arms up and over her head. Her joints popped in protest.

"Gaahhhh, I've been sitting here for so long..." she whined, quietly to herself. She was currently sitting in one of her university's many study rooms and it was reaching lunchtime.  
Popping her earbuds out of her ears she turned to look at the student sitting next to her. Despite his books being opened, he was on his phone and appeared to be texting somebody.

"Hmm..." she closed her laptop as he let out a breath that sounded akin to a laugh. Adjusting her glasses, she pushed her laptop into her cat-shaped bag. She popped a chip into her mouth from the pocket of her hoodie as she did so. With a loud crunch, she started to make room for her laptop which struggled to stay out of its confinement.

As she struggled, the chip bag in her pocket slowly made its way out and onto the ground with a soft crinkle.

"Hey, Miss?" plop, success! her laptop was in her bag now! With a zip, she turned to look at the person who had addressed her.  
Violet eyes met the milky, opaque lenses of her large, goofy glasses. She put on her signature dopey smile as they made eye contact.

"Yup?" She made sure to pop the 'p' as she ran her tongue along her bottom lip.

"You dropped something" his voice seemed to be rather timid, she couldn't stand it when people were shy around her.

"Pardon?" she heard him loud and clear, she just wanted to hear him say it louder and with more confidence. Instead, however, he went to pick up the bag of chips on the floor himself. Her smile dropped a bit as he handed it to her, his eyes still shy and unsure. As she went to grab it, his eyes seemed to scan the label before instantly lighting up. Did he really like chips?

"No way! These are Honey Buddha Chips! Where did you get these? Please tell me!" Lilly's hand stopped part-way towards the bag he was holding, his sudden outburst startling her. "Can I please have one?"

"I got a whole other bag, hold on" Lilly dug through her pockets pulling out her backup snacks. She always made sure to keep backup snacks handy just for emergencies like these!

"Really? You'll give me a whole bag free? You're so awesome!" Lilly laughed taking the half-empty bag from him before replacing it with an unopened one. "Gah! I have to savour these, they'll taste even better since they're free"

"Savour? they're a bag of chips, I have a ton more at home. If you want we can meet up here from time to time and share them." Lilly paused, her smile growing, before adding "for free..."

"Wait you mean Honey Buddha Chips right? Not just any old Lais chips?"

"You bet!"

"Oh my gosh, yes! You're so cool! I'm so excited!" Suddenly the shy boy from before was no more. His blonde hair bounced as he did a little victory dance in his seat.

"Anyways, it was nice meeting you but I'm gonna go grab some lunch. My stomach is my one and only boss!" She laughed, pulling her bag onto her shoulder and stuffing the packet of half-eaten chips back into her hoodie pocket. She then stood up and turned to push her chair in.

"Oh wait, I didn't catch your name! I'm Yoosung by the way..." the shyness was back, as he averted his eyes.

"Lilly." She gave him a quick raise of the hand akin to a wave before turning to leave through the closest exit. She could tell he was confused by her foreign name but she didn't bother to turn around and explain before she stepped out into the hallway.

 

It was dark out now and Lilly was finding it increasingly harder not to fall asleep on the subway ride back home. Her head bobbed back and forth as she went in and out of consciousness. She continued to suck in a string of saliva that tried to escape through the corner of her mouth.

“My lady?” She practically jumped out of her skin as a foreign voice entered her ears.  
“Gaaah! huh? What? I'm awake, I'm awake!” She yelled in her stupor of fatigue before flailing her arms wildly. Her glasses fell to the floor with a clack and she groaned in irritation as she realized they had fallen from her face. She heard an amused chuckle in response as she went to pick them up and place them back on. “What, you think this is funny?” She pushed the glasses up her nose and gave a fake scowl. She then raised her head to look up at the stranger that addressed her.

“A lady shouldn't sleep on public transport, it's bad for your skin and potentially dangerous. Who knows what kind of people are lurking around.” she was met with red eyes and soft white hair tied neatly into a ponytail. To the average person, he would seem incredibly good looking but Lilly wasn't too interested in relationships.

“Oh, uh thanks. Just had a busy day ya know? I'm a student and all,” she let out a nervous chuckle. Her hands settled in her lap and she made a wave-like motion with her fingers as she spoke.

“Oh really? Do you go to SKY University? A friend of mine goes there. You probably don't know him though, so I don't know why I'm telling you this.” He let out a breath akin to a laugh “what are you taking?”

“I'm a computer science major with a minor in business”

“Computer science?” He asked no one in particular as he seemed to pause and think for a second. “I know a guy, his name is Seven and he's amazing with computers.”

“His name is a number?”

“Oh that's not his real name, it's just something everyone calls him,” he let out a nervous chuckle.

“Seems suspicious…”

“Oh no! He's a great guy, real jokester or at least he tries to be.” He put his hands out in front of him and waved them as he spoke while wearing an embarrassed smile.

“Hmmm…” Lilly squinted her eyes as if she was thinking hard. When he opened his mouth to try to defend his ‘totally not suspicious’ friend she burst out laughing. “Ah, I'm just kidding. I'm sure he's a great guy,” she said the last part in a sarcastic tone.

“You don't sound very convinced,” he glanced to his side for a second before focusing his attention back on her. His lips were upturned into a smile. She smiled and let out a breathy laugh in response. “So where are you heading?”

“Home, probably to make dinner for my little brother before passing out in the nearest bed.”

“You live with your family?”

“Just my brother, we sorta lost contact with our parents and our primary caretaker passed away during my graduation from high school.”

“You're taking care of him yourself?!” Most people reacted this way when she told them that she was her brothers, primary caretaker. She really didn't mind though, he meant the world to her and she felt she had the resources to do it. Though the man before her was looking at her with oddly concerned eyes for a stranger. He was treating this information like a secret his longtime friend hid behind his back and suffered from alone.

“Yeah, it's no big deal, when I'm too busy a close childhood friend of mine will usually help in some way. I have support,” Lilly had no clue why she was saying all this to a stranger. He looked genuinely concerned for her though so it felt easy to spill her thoughts.

“What's your number?” His phone was out in what felt like a split second. He had a determined look on his face as he held it out in front of him. Lilly laughed nervously before telling him, he quickly typed it in as she spoke. “I'll text you tonight, I know we just met but don't be afraid to ever text me if you genuinely need help.”

“Only when I genuinely need help?” She laughed.

“Or just to chat, that's fine too!” His face lit up with an embarrassed blush which made him seem cute and almost childlike. An announcement on the overhead speakers cut them off, it was her stop.

“Looks like it's time for me to go,” she said as she got up from her seat. “I'm Lilly by the way, we never really formally introduced ourselves”

“Oh my god! Where are my manners? My name's Hyun Ryu but my friends just call me Zen.”

“Alright, Zen..” she tested the name on her tongue “I'll talk to you later.”

“Yeah, you too and be careful on your way home!” Was heard as she exited the train.

 

“I'm home!” She closed the door behind her and dropped her keys onto a nearby table with a clang. She stripped herself of her shoes before sliding her feet into a pair of slippers. Trudging tiredly towards the kitchen; she dropped her bag along the wall near the entrance of her two bedroom apartment.

The pitter-patter of feet slapping against the hardwood flooring could be heard as she opened the fridge.

“Big sis,” she was met with a mess of auburn hair and big blue eyes akin to her own.

“Hey bud, you hungry?” Lilly was getting food out as she spoke.

“No need, I've already prepared dinner” Lilly jumped, turning to look at the woman standing next to her little brother. Her childhood friend, Rina Han. She was giving Lilly a very stern look, her amethyst eyes practically boring holes into the other woman.

“Rina...Why are you looking at me like that?” Lilly drew out her name in a whiny, playful tone. “And since when do you cook?” Lilly stared at the food in her hands for a second before tossing it back into the fridge without a care of where it landed. She then closed it with her foot and turned towards her friend and brother.

“Don't speak like that, it's annoying and I didn't. I got a chef to do it for me.” Rina crossed her arms as she spoke.

“Awe sweet, is it from that one guy, what's his face, that always makes really good food?” Her voice was becoming lazier as she spoke, coming out groggy and distorted. Rina grimaced in response to Lilly's speech mannerisms.

“Speak like a normal human being,” she scolded before continuing “and no he was busy back at home preparing a meal for my parents.”

“So, in other words, this meal is gonna suck?” Lilly made her way towards the dinner table, her brother in tow.

“Lilly you're such an ungrateful slob,” Lilly laughed mischievously as she knew her attitude would get a rise out of her friend. “And don't laugh.” Lilly let out a forced laugh just to spite her.

“So, Castiel, how was school?” Lilly asked as she sat down at one of the chairs surrounding her dining room table. Castiel sat next to her and Rina opposite of him.

“Don’t ignore me,” Rina scolded causing Lilly to let out another forced laugh. Rina rolled her eyes and sighed irritatedly resting her chin on the palm of her hand.

“Um, it was okay. I read a book on rabbits today…” he trailed off giving Lilly his cutest face. Lilly began to sweat profusely, it was such a hard face to resist. Her brother had been bugging her for a while now about getting a pet rabbit. He seemed to have an odd fascination with them. His room was covered in plush rabbits and most of his clothes had the fluffy-tailed creature on them.

“Oh really? Were you at the library again?” Lilly almost jumped out of her skin when his face switched from cute to menacing in what seemed like a split second. He was obviously angry at the fact that she was dodging the topic.

“Castiel you should finish up quickly and get to bed. You have to wake up early tomorrow and sleep is important for a growing boy like you.” Lilly practically sighed in relief; saved by the Rina.

“I-I know, sorry Ms. Rina,” Castiel replied shyly. When Rina turned her head, however, he began to glare daggers at his sister once more.

For the next two hours, Lilly chatted with both Rina and her younger brother over food and then tea. She could feel herself getting progressively more exhausted as the seconds ticked by though. So when she could take being tired no longer, she bid Rina a farewell before tucking Castiel into bed. She whispered an “I love you” and shut the lights off after reading him a favourite bedtime story.

Lilly collapsed onto her own bed, exhausted now that the day was done.The desktop fish tank on her end table lit the room up in a blue light. Her body was encompassed in its soothing glow.  
She felt relieved as she pulled her glasses off her face and set it aside along with her hoodie, skirt and leggings. Laying on top of her comforter in nothing but her underwear and shirt. She began basking in the fact that she could just lay in bed and do nothing.  
The sudden buzz of her phone startled her as the silence she was enjoying was disturbed.  
She rolled over and pulled her phone out of her discarded hoodie's pocket and turned it towards her. She squinted as she was met with an unknown number.

“Hello my lovely lady, it's me Zen~ I hope I didn't wake you since it's so late.”

She stared at the text for a few seconds trying to remember who the hell Zen was again. When it eventually came back to her, she was quick to add him to her contacts.

“Yo, yo, hiya, hey~” was her response just to make sure he didn't think she was ignoring him. She planned to pass out right after sending that but his response was almost instant.

“Gah! I thought you were someone else for a second there, it scared me. You're not secretly Seven in disguise are you?”

“01011001 01100101 01110011 (yes)”

“Seven get out of Lilly's phone, right now!”

“Lol jk, it's me, not your suspicious friend. I'm exhausted so I'm heading to bed now. I'll be sure to text you in the morning.”

She shut off her phone before he could send a reply and promptly threw it away before cocooning herself in her comforter. She then instantly fell into a deep sleep.

 

Tip tip, tap. Lilly's hands were working tirelessly as she typed away on her computer. She was having trouble with her current assignment, frustration building on her face. She would have to ask her professor some questions later. She hated having to ask for help, she should be able to do this!

The door opened and closed as the once empty study room was filled with an extra person. She paid them no mind though as she glared angrily at her computer screen. She was getting painstakingly close to slamming her face on the keyboard.

The chair next to her scraped across the ground as someone sat down in it. They dropped their bag onto the table with an audible plop. The movement out of the corner of her eye caused her to glance to her side. She was met with a friendly, albeit shy smile and familiar violet eyes.

“Sorry, are you busy?” Was the first thing out of his mouth.

“Kinda, but I'm stuck” Lilly pouted, poking with mock sadness at her laptop. “Gah! Why is this so hard?!” She whined out, ruffling her hair.

“Huh? Let me see!” Yoosung scraped his chair across the tiled floor, scooting closer to her. His head was practically touching hers as he tried to make sense of what was displayed on her monitor. She waited patiently for him to respond, though he continued to go “uh” and “um”. Eventually, she glanced at his face and burst out laughing when his expression was that of utter confusion. He blushed and puffed out his cheeks in response.

“I-I don't know what any of that is,” he sputtered.

“It's quite simple really!” Her voice took on a sarcastic tone as she closed her eyes for a second and raised her right hand. One of her fingers were pointing up while the other hand rested on her chest. “I'm hacking into confidential information that might change the world as we know it. So far I've figured out that the current prime minister has two illegitimate sons!” Lilly joked but tried her best to seem serious.

“What?! That's not true, no way!” Yoosung gripped both her legs and leaned in closer to her in his excitement.

She let out a mischievous laugh, booping his nose with hers as they were now extremely close to each other. “Yeah you’re right I lied~” she winked after proudly stating that. “By the way, Yoosung~ did you want a kiss? You’re awfully close.” She puckered her lips playfully.

“Ack!” His face lit up with an embarrassed blush as he instinctively backed away. Though he misjudged how far he could go as his butt slid off the seat of the chair. He began to flail his arms wildly, losing balance. The chair he was sitting on tipping back and forth on the tips of its legs. Lilly quickly reached out and snatched his hands, pulling him towards her before he could fall. They ended up back in the same position, nose to nose as Lilly let out a soft giggle.

“Welcome back~”

“Stop that!” Yoosung quickly pushed her away as she laughed at his clumsiness. He quickly looked around the room to make sure nobody else was present. When he seemed satisfied that nobody had seen them, he turned his focus back to Lilly. He was glaring daggers at her. He looked like an angry tomato with how red his cheeks were. “What if someone mistakes us for a couple?”

“Then I’ll give you a really big kiss, Yoosung” she made sure to annoyingly draw out his name; she also clasped her hands together and fluttered her lashes.

He let out a whine and puffed out his cheeks irritably “I've never kissed a girl so stop teasing me.” there was a pause as both of them said nothing before Lilly piped up again as she was reminded of something. Something to tease Yoosung about, that is.

“Speaking of kissing and couples; it's getting close to Valentine's day, isn't it? Who will you spend it with? Huh?” Her voice took on a playful tone.

Yoosung’s mood seemed to darken almost instantly at the mention of Valentine's day. He began pouting and his blush disappeared. “You're so mean, I don't have anyone.”

“So I guess it's more like forever alone day,” Lilly teased.

“My loneliness isn't funny you know!” Yoosung exclaimed, crossing his arms. “Who are you spending it with? Huh?” He mocked her previous tone, smirking proudly as if he spotted her only weakness.

“Me, myself and I. I'm not really interested in relationships anyway, so it doesn't bother me~”

“That's a lie,” Yoosung accused, his arms still crossed. “I bet you're just as lonely as me.”

“Whatever you say,” she then tossed him a bag of Honey Buddha Chips, it landed in his lap. “I'm guessing that’s the real reason you're still talking to me.”

“Oh! I completely forgot about them actually, I was having fun talking to you so…” he trailed off, averting his eyes shyly at his admission.

“Ugh, I hate when you get all shy like that. You don't need to be afraid of saying anything around me. I may laugh or joke, but it's all in good fun.” Lilly's voice became irritated.

“Oh, so-sorry!” He stuttered, waving his hands in front of his face apologetically and putting on a nervous smile.

“You're doing it again. Stop.” Her lips downturned into a slight frown. He opened his mouth to speak again; though Lilly didn't feel like hearing another apology, so she cut him off. “You have any plans tonight?”

“Uh, I was going to go home and play some LOLOL, why?”

“LOLOL? what's your rank? I play it from time to time, which is never but still.”

“Really?! You play games?!” Yoosung was then quick to boast about how he was ranked number 2 on the shooting star server, and how he had a super rare skin. Lilly quietly listened to him prattle on. It was nice to see him be super passionate about something and not self-conscious of his every move. He suddenly stopped mid-rant and blushed slightly at how excited he had gotten at just the mention of his favourite game. “What's your rank?” He asked, his voice taking on a more timid tone.

Lilly gave him an unamused look as he went back to his old shy ways. “Uh, 10 or 13? I can't remember, I barely have time to play with school and work combined.”

“That's not bad, We should play together! what's your username? I'll add you.” Yoosung got his phone out and waited for her to speak.

“Uh I think it was, JusticeWarrior606.” she laughed at how stupid it sounded now that she said it out loud. Yoosung also let out a small laugh as he typed it in to remember it later.

“606? Reminds me of a friend of mine who constantly says that's his imaginary girlfriend. His name is Luciel but everyone I know calls him Seven.”

“Suspicious Seven?”

“You know him?”

“No, somebody I met on the train the other day said something about a guy who goes by Seven and is good with computers. He said his name was Zen, do you know him?”

“Yeah! We're close friends, wow what a weird coincidence,” he laughed, his smile growing. “What did you think of him? He's an actor, you know.”

“Really? He seemed relatively attractive, I think modelling would suit him better.” Yoosung was quick to shake his head.

“No way, he's way too passionate about what he does and he's really good at it! A friend of mine, Jaehee, always watches his DVDs and is a big fan.”

“Really? Maybe I'll check him out.” Lilly checked the clock on her phone realizing it was getting close to lunch. She could feel how empty her stomach was.

“Anyways, why did you call Seven suspicious?”

“Because who has a number as their name? Though I guess now I know his real name is Luciel. Still suspicious though.”

“Oh no, that's not his real name it's his baptismal name or something. His real name is a secret.” Yoosung explained, going to open the bag of chips he left sitting in his lap.

“Now he's even more suspicious than before.” Lilly snagged the chip bag in Yoosung's hands away from him just as he was about to open it. He opened his mouth to protest but she cut him off. “Let's go have lunch together,” she stated, dropping the unopened packet back onto his lap.

His eyes suddenly lit up, “Really? Finally, everything I imagined about college life is coming true!” Yoosung exclaimed as Lilly stood up to put away her laptop before zipping up her bag.

“Are you high or something?” She half-joked as she flung her bag over her shoulder and began walking towards the nearest exit.

“Ah, w-wait!” Yoosung exclaimed, quickly gathering his stuff before running after her.

 

Lilly poked at her kimchi and miso soup with her chopsticks. They weren't exactly the most appetizing. Both were overcooked and mushy. She stuck out her tongue, tempted to push her tray away.

“You shouldn't play with your food, Lilly, or skip meals.” Yoosung was sitting next to her, the cafeteria was both crowded and loud as people chatted away.

“Please, you were going to skip lunch to eat a bag of chips.” Lilly accused as she popped some of the food into her mouth.

“Honey Buddha Chips are amazing! I don't know how you don't eat all the chips you have for breakfast, lunch and dinner.” Yoosung replied through his own food.

“I usually have a chef to do it and I don't want to set a bad example for my little brother.”

“A chef?! No way, are you rich?” He gave her a look of surprise.

“No, a very close friend of mine is though. She's the niece of the chairman of C&R.” Lilly explained, shovelling more food in her mouth.

“What, I didn't know Jumin had any cousins.”

“Jumin Han?”

“Yeah, that's the one!” He paused, “Oh you probably don't know this but he's also a friend of mine, well kinda. We're in the same organization.” Upon Lilly's look of confusion, Yoosung continued. “RFA, it's a fundraising organization.”

“Never heard of it, but that's cool. How do you guys raise money?”

“We host parties, a lot of important people and celebrities show up! But…” Yoosung trailed off, a cloud of depression suddenly engulfing him. “My cousin Rika was the head of the organization and she…” his bottom lip began to quiver and it looked as if he were about to burst into tears. “She passed away during my graduation, I really loved her. I wanted to be just like her.” He sniffled, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand.

Lilly began to panic, she wasn't expecting him to get so emotional. “Hey, hey!” She exclaimed, grabbing his attention before placing a reassuring hand on his back. When he turned to look at her, tears brimming his normally cheerful eyes she had no clue what to say. Her breathing began to pick up, she felt as if she were failing him. So she decided to say the first thing that came to mind. She didn't know if it would make the situation worse or better. She wasn't good with this kind of stuff.

Her voice dropped to a whisper, “Let’s have sex,” she blurted out. She regretted it the moment it came out and began to sweat profusely. Luckily she said it in a very joking manner so hopefully, he didn't take it too seriously.

Yoosung practically choked on his own spit, his face becoming a dark shade of red. “What?!” He yelled, drawing a few of the stranger's attention that surrounded them. “Why would you say that, here of all places?!”

Lilly burst out laughing at his reaction, snorting every couple of laughs. “Sorry, I thought that would help you feel better.”

“How does that help me feel better?!” He exclaimed. They both suddenly went quiet and stared at each other for a couple seconds in silence. Yoosung's expression slowly changed from anger and embarrassment to a smile. He then started laughing at how ridiculous the situation was. Lilly's smile began to grow in reaction to his laughter, relieved she didn't completely turn him off by saying something stupid.

“Lilly, you're such a weirdo…” he paused fiddling with his fingers, a smile still on his face. He averted his eyes, “but thanks, that kinda helped.” Lilly smirked in response and was about to speak when Yoosung quickly cut her off. “Just never do that again, got it?”

“No promises.”

The rest of the meal they chatted and joked around, Lilly poking fun at Yoosung and Yoosung trying to poke fun back. Eventually though, one of Yoosung's peers from his next class showed up and the two left together. Lilly watched them walk away; Now sitting alone, she felt somewhat empty.


	2. I'm Not Like Them

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Zen and Lilly kinda flirt? we see Lilly's insecurities a little bit and her jokes go a little too far.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to leave any comments you may have down below. I would like to know your thoughts and opinions on characters, plot, etc. and what you feel should be changed or removed (Don't be rude, I want to improve). It means a lot to me to get feedback on stuff like this. Anyways, thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy.

Lilly was sitting at her desktop watching her client for the game LOLOL, slowly patch. She hadn't played it in a while and it was taking forever to update. She groaned and moved it over to her second monitor, opening up an assignment to work on as it loaded. Her brother was laying on her bed, behind her. He was scribbling in his notebook quietly, most likely doing homework.

“How was school, bud?” Lilly asked as she began typing away at her school work.

Her brother looked up from his notebook, he was silent for a few seconds as if processing what she had asked. “Um, it was okay. I'm glad you came and picked me up today.”

Lilly turned to look at him; their eyes met as she set her work aside to go sit next to him on her bed. She hugged him against her, relishing in the fact that she could hold him close. Castiel was still in elementary school, so he was half Lilly's size. Not that Lilly was very tall, to begin with.

“Want to go watch a movie tomorrow night?” She smiled brightly, her heart swelling. She knew exactly what movie she wanted to watch with him. Excitement coursed through her at the thought.

“Um…” Castiel glanced around the room as if considering her question. “I was going to go over to a friends house actually.” He gave Lilly an apologetic look.

“Oh, that's fine,” it was hard to not let disappointment slip through her voice. She felt like she didn't spend enough time with her brother and the guilt was eating her alive. She turned her attention to the fish tank on her side table; the shrimp housed inside scuttling about on the various aquarium décor. She grit her teeth together as she began to feel a lump of depression building up in her stomach. Why did she have to overthink this? He just had plans that didn't involve her, it's not like his world revolved around her.

“Big Sis?” Castiel's voice was laced with worry. She was snapped out of the toxic thoughts she was drowning herself in, as her attention was turned back to her brother. “We can go see a movie this weekend.” She had a lot of work to do this weekend, but she nodded nonetheless. This was so hard.

 

It had just passed supper time; she cooked both her and Castiel dinner, with his help of course. They had sat down, eaten and chatted before going their separate ways.  
Lilly was now sitting in her room on her computer, while the sound of the TV blared in the other room. Castiel was most likely watching kids shows or playing games as Lilly began typing away at her school work once more. Each time she pressed her finger against a key on the keyboard, she could feel herself grow more exhausted. LOLOL was taking forever to update and she was starting to consider going to bed before it finished.

“I should probably text Yoosung…” she whispered to herself. She picked up her phone that she had left face down on her desk the moment she got home. She unlocked her phone and started scrolling through her contacts looking for his name. She paused and gave her phone a confused look when she couldn't find it; before cursing herself when she remembered she never added his number.

She sighed and stared at the game client on her monitor once more. The update bar had still not been filled yet. Ugh, she just wanted to go to bed, but she didn't want Yoosung to get upset if she didn't show up. Her phone buzzed, causing her to jump as she turned her attention back to it.

“Hey princess, you never texted me this morning~” it was Zen and his text made her feel guilty. She had completely forgotten about him. “You're not ignoring me because of how impossibly good looking I am, are you?” nevermind.

“Impossibly good looking? Are you drunk right now?” She replied, giving her phone an unamused look as if it were the very person she was texting.

“What? It's true. Today I had a modelling agency ask me if I could model for them. Of course, I refused, I would prefer to be known for my talents. They still noticed how impeccably handsome I am though.” What a narcissist, was the first thought that came to mind. “Oh I forgot to tell you, I'm an actor. Sorry, I probably confused you.” Lilly laughed to herself. It felt weird already knowing information about someone ahead of time.

“I would've accepted. Any experience is good experience. It's nice to have useful things to add to your resume or portfolio, or whatever it is artists add their past job experiences to.” there was a pause as she didn't instantly receive a response from him like she normally did. She began to sweat nervously. Had she said something wrong?

“You think?” She sighed in relief when she finally got a reply. “I don't know…That's not how I want people to see me, for just my looks.” She groaned irritably, she wasn't going to argue with how stupid that sounded. “Oh shoot, I think the food I left in the oven is burning! I completely forgot. I'll text you later!” She halted her fingers which were typing out her next reply and erased what was there. Great, she wanted to ask him to text Yoosung for her.

She locked her phone as she checked her game client, it was done! She was glad she didn’t have to ghost Yoosung when they were just starting to get friendly with each other. She quickly went to log in, watching as her account was loaded. Ping! A new friend request. Happy she didn’t have to wait any longer, she gladly accepted it. She instantly got a whisper; yeesh Yoosung was fast to notice she had added him.

“Lilly! T3T I thought you weren't coming on, I missed you~” SupermanYoosung? That sounded worse than her username. She smiled happily to herself. For some reason, she felt light and springy.

“Sorry, my game was updating. I hadn't opened it in a long time and it took forever!”

“Gah! I hate when that happens!”

“Hurry up and invite me to a game, you shouldn't keep a girl waiting.”

Lilly spent the next few hours playing a couple rounds of LOLOL with Yoosung. She couldn't remember the last time she had this much fun. Usually, her days consisted of work, work and more work with short breaks in between. It was nice to procrastinate a little from time to time.

Her mind seemed to stop. Procrastinate? She shouldn't be doing this, she needed to succeed. She could feel a lump of anxiety grow in her stomach at her lazy thoughts. She needed to be ahead of the game if she wanted to get anywhere in life. If not for her, then her brother. Maybe she was overreacting, but she didn't want to end up like either of her parents.  
“She was nothing like them!” She practically screamed the last thought in her head as if someone was arguing otherwise.This was unhealthy, she knew it and yet she continued. She didn’t need breaks, she needed work. Breaks wouldn’t get her anywhere.

Her breathing had picked up and she began sweating profusely. Tears pricked her eyes as she forced herself to calm down. Failure was her biggest fear, ending up like ‘HER’ was even bigger. “You're fine, you're fine... Everything is fine..” she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding in when her phone lit up with Zens name. Her ringtone went off, as it began vibrating wildly.

She quickly picked it up and accepted the call before putting it to her ear. “Hello?” She was still out of breath and it was obvious as she spoke.

“Hey, babe~ Sorry I’m calling so late, I just wanted to talk to you before you went to bed.” She was silent. The only response he received was her rapid breathing. She wanted to laugh at herself, she probably sounded like a horror movie monster. “...Are you okay?” He was worried; she seemed to be doing that to everyone tonight.

“Yeah, sorry. I just got back from a run~ Gotta stay in shape, you know?” She lied as her voice took on a forced cheery tone. It made her feel like shit and probably even lower than that when she used it around her brother.

Why couldn’t she just be honest? She’s not always happy, in fact sometimes...It felt like she never was. ‘She was never good enough, she needed to be better’. These toxic thoughts pushed her to achieve success; but they also pushed her to pass out, after she spent sleepless nights working on something completely unnecessary. ‘She had to be better than THEM, she had to be stronger for HIM’. Nobody that loved her would be happy with her pushing herself like this. But that’s okay, they didn’t need to know. She just kept feeding this compulsion.

“You exercise? You know, exercising is a great way to clear your head when it's full of sentimental thoughts. Especially at night~” Maybe she should start exercising? No, she didn't have time. “We should work out together, sometime. Though I must warn you, I might be a little too good looking to resist.” Working out with someone might give her brain a better excuse to set her work aside. She pondered over his offer for a moment, forgetting she was supposed to reply. “You know conversations usually go both ways?” He laughed nervously, “if this is a bad time-”

“No, Sorry!” She practically yelled, panicking. “I was considering your suggestion of working out with you.” Man, now she knew what it felt like for Yoosung to say something embarrassing.

“I didn't know you wanted to see my body that badly, princess~”

“I'm being serious!” She exclaimed, a light pink blush dusting her features. What the heck was wrong with her tonight? Maybe she was just being overly sentimental. She suddenly heard him start laughing on the other end. She felt as if her cheeks were on fire by this point but she tried her best to hide her embarrassment.

“You're so cute. I was just teasing you, you know?” He let out another chuckle.

“You're a jerk, maybe I should just hang up.” Great, now she definitely sounded embarrassed. He was laughing pretty hard now, gulping in air between each laugh. She glared angrily at nothing in particular while he laughed. Was it really that funny? Even though she was unhappy, his laugh became contagious as a smile began to spread on her lips.

“I can hear you smiling through the phone.”

“That's not even possible.” She laughed, this was so stupid.

“I'm glad I could make you smile, you sounded really upset at the start of the call.”

“Was it that obvious?” She blurted out. Shit, she didn't mean to say exactly what she was thinking. The distinct urge to slam her palm into her forehead became a tantalizing thought.

“No, but I had a sneaking suspicion. I guess I was right~” he laughed proudly.

“Jerk.”

“You should stop mixing me up with that trust-fund-kid, Jumin Han,” she could hear the disdain in his voice. Didn't he like Jumin? She only met the guy once at a party Rina invited her to, but he seemed professional and hard-working. Honestly, thanks to him, she was aspiring to work at C&R in the future. “Oh sorry, I probably confused you there for a second. How would I know the heir to C&R? Well, we're in the same organization, the RFA. It's a fundraising organization. A close friend of mine, Rika, invited him and me to join. But he's an emotionless jerk who forces his assistant to do all his work while he dates his cat. I don't know what Rika liked about him to ask him to join the RFA.” Zen explained, he seemed to be getting more annoyed the longer he explained why he hated the corporate heir. He suddenly sneezed causing Lilly to jump. “Sorry, just saying the word cat makes me sneeze; since I'm allergic to those hairballs.”

“Hairballs?” Lilly laughed, smirking mischievously as something came to mind. Something to tease Zen with. “Meow~”

“Gah!” Zen sneezed again, causing Lilly to giggle. “You're cute but please don't do that again~” his voice took on a playful tone.

“Why don't you try and stop me~”

“You should be careful what you ask for, princess.” she laughed, her eyes drifting up to her monitor. She froze in place, a waterfall of sweat practically running down her back. She still had LOLOL’s game client opened and had completely forgotten she was in a game. Her screen was practically covered in the whispers of Yoosung and other players asking where the hell she was. Yoosung's was more polite and worried than the others.

“Shit, I completely forgot I was in a game!” She yelled, tilting her head to the side and shoving her phone between her head and shoulder. Her hands practically flung themselves back on the keyboard as she began playing again.

“Hmm? Don't tell me you're playing a game called LOLOL?”

“Yeah, that's it! I gotta go, I'm in the middle of a round. I'll talk to you later okay? This time I'll remember!” She picked the phone up from where she put it and hit the red end call button, before putting her full focus back on LOLOL again. Shoot, hopefully, Yoosung didn't mention this tomorrow. How embarrassing.

 

Lilly had her face, planted on the desk next to her laptop. She was back in her favourite, vacant study room and she was exhausted. Her bags probably had bags of their own. After raging half the night away with Yoosung and a couple of his classmates in multiple games of LOLOL; she spent the rest of the night punishing herself by doing everything and anything she had for homework. Even if they weren’t due for weeks.

“Lilly? Earth to Lilly.” She didn’t respond as she continued to play dead. Maybe all the noises would go away if she didn’t make any herself. She suddenly felt a gust of warm air enter her left ear. A shiver shot down her spine as she practically flung herself upright in her chair.

“GAH!” She screamed like just she saw the most disgusting spider. Yoosung, the annoying disturbance that sat beside her, began laughing at her reaction to him blowing in her ear.

“Are you okay? You look exhausted. Though I’m kind of tired too. LOLOL was just too much fun!” He laughed as Lilly nodded in response. She slowly lowered her head back towards the desk. She didn’t feel like talking right now, just sleeping. Yoosung shrugged off her tiredness as he went to open the bag of Honey Buddha Chips she had given him three seconds before she slammed her face into the nearest desk. “What happened last night, by the way? You sat at spawn for half a game,” he asked as he popped a chip into his mouth.

“Zen called me and I got distracted.” She grumbled through the sleeve of her shirt.

“Zen? What did he call you about?” For some reason, Yoosung sounded slightly irritated while asking about the call. Though Lilly paid it no mind.

“He just wanted to chat.”

“Oh..” there was a pause as Yoosung seemed to ponder something. “what did you guys chat about?”

“You’re unusually nosey today.”

“Am not! I’m just curious is all…” Yoosung puffed out his cheeks and averted his eyes.

“Alright, but I might reveal Zen’s biggest secret yet…” Yoosungs large violet eyes seemed to get bigger as he got closer to Lilly in his excitement to hear what the secret was. “We were talking about how much he loves Jumin Han and has secret feelings for him.” The thought caused Lilly to giggle, Yoosung laughed as well.

“Yeah right, he can’t stand Jumin!” There was a pause as neither of them spoke. Yoosung digging into the chip packet for another. “You know I never thought I would be eating these many Honey Buddha chips ever in my life. You’re the best.” Lilly simply hummed in response, getting seriously close to passing out completely. That wasn’t the reaction he was looking for.  
Yoosung began looking around the room as if he was about to confess something strange, clenching and unclenching his hand on the bag he was holding with a soft crinkle. He took in a deep breath to calm himself down. “Um, Lilly?”

“Merr?” she mumbled through her half-conscious state.

“I was wondering if maybe you would like to come over to my place tonight? Just to hang out, nothing weird.” He began to fiddle with his sleeve, nervously.

“Hmm...I don’t know if I want to see your panty collection, Yoosung, you pervert.” Lilly joked, her head still buried in her arms.

“Any perverted thoughts are coming from your own head!” Yoosung exclaimed, quick to rebuttal her joke. His cheeks became a dark shade of red as he quickly scanned the room to make sure nobody else heard and got the wrong impression about him.

“I would laugh, but I’m napping. So just pretend I laughed at you.” Yoosung gave her an unamused look.

“Ugh, anyways is that a yes or no? Cause I’m starting to regret asking.” Yoosung crossed his arms, turning his head away. He was acting somewhat like a grumpy child that wasn’t getting its way.

“Yeah sure, I’ll nap on your couch or something.”

“I’m not inviting you over to nap!”

“That’s just what you think.”

 

Lilly was staring out the bus window, watching pedestrians and buildings pass her. She was fiddling with her hair, twirling a brown strand around her finger as she rode to Yoosung’s place. She didn’t feel as exhausted as she did this morning since she spent the time she had in all her classes, sleeping. She had a feeling she was going to be hard on herself for that later. At the moment, however, she didn’t want to think about that or the fact that her brother turned down her offer to watch a movie. She could have been hanging with him instead right now.

“You know, the Valentine’s day dance is coming up.” Yoosung suddenly piped up. She had almost forgotten he was sitting right next to her until he spoke. She turned her head towards him, her eyes focusing on his face. He was giving her a look as if he expected her to say something.

“What dance?” She asked, confused. Why did she need care about a Valentine’s day dance anyways?

Yoosung puffed out his cheeks irritatedly. “You know, the one they’re hosting at school. It’s supposed to be really nice.”

“Okay?” Yoosung looked a little upset, upon her response. He said nothing as he looked down towards his shoes. Had she said something wrong? “When is it anyways? Valentine’s day isn’t for another week and a bit.” Maybe he just wanted to discuss it more?

He seemed to perk up when she continued. “Oh, It’s on Valentine’s day! Which is on a weekend. So it’s pretty convenient, huh?”

“Why don’t you take Zen with you since you seem so excited?” Lilly laughed mischievously. She had a feeling that question would get a rise out of Yoosung.

“No, that’s gay!” He exclaimed.

Lilly thought for a second on somebody else he could bring with him. Yoosung quietly waited for her to speak again. He seemed almost expectant. “Oh I know, how about suspicious Seven?”

“That’s not much better!”

“Just dress one of them up like a girl. Whichever is more girly.” Yoosung seemed to almost gag as if he remembered something utterly disgusting. Lilly was now interested in what he was thinking.

“Ugh, don’t remind me. I don’t want to think about how Seven dressed himself up in a maid outfit to pretend to be his maid.” Lilly burst out laughing, snorting between each laugh. She had to meet this Seven guy, he seemed fun. “It’s not funny, everyone's eyes suffered that day.”

“Sounds funny to me, you should’ve invited him over too!”

“He would've said he's too busy slaving over work or something,” Yoosung replied, glancing to his side briefly as a few more passengers got on the bus. “So are you taking anyone to the dance now that I mentioned it to you?”

“I told you I wasn't spending Valentine's day with anyone. But if I absolutely had to…” Yoosung stared at her, waiting almost excitedly for her to respond. “I would take Seven dressed up as a maid.” His smile was practically wiped from his face.

“Lilly, I'm being serious!” He exclaimed, huffing angrily.

“So am I!” She replied, sarcastically.

“No, you're not!”

Lilly rested her chin on the palm of her hand and squinted her eyes at him. A smirk graced her lips as she opened her mouth to speak again. “Why does it matter, huh? Did you expect me to say you?”

“What?! N-no, I was just curious.” A light pink dusted his features as he spoke. “You're pretty vain to think that.”

“I was just kidding,” she shrugged.

“Oh...I knew that!” Lilly hummed in reply, turning her attention back to the window. The rest of the ride was relatively silent. Yoosung was fiddling nervously with anything he could get his hands on, the rest of the way. What was up with him?

 

The door to Yoosung's apartment creaked open as the two stepped inside. The first thing Lilly noticed was how cramped the space was as she struggled to take off her shoes without slipping into the nearest wall or tripping over Yoosung. Finally getting her shoes off she took some time to look around. It was as if she stepped into a kids room. Everything was unnecessarily bright and colourful. It was a stark contrast to her own apartment; where the walls were mostly painted in dark colours and the furniture was very modern. Well except for Castiel's room. Though he was a kid so that just made sense.

“Home sweet home!” Yoosung exclaimed proudly as they made their way past his small kitchen area. They arrived at a place in his room where it looked like he set up a console for them to play games together. Lilly plopped herself down on one of the cushions in front of the small TV.

“Your place is lame,” she half-joked as she leaned back on the palms of her hands.

“Maybe I should kick you out of it then.” Yoosung huffed angrily in response.

“I'll just loiter outside your door like a stalker until you let me back in.”

“I'll ignore you.”

“Then I'll hack into your LOLOL account and delete it.”

“Gah, no! Anything but that!” Lilly let out a mock evil laugh at his response.

“Anyways, Enough joking around. Let's eat snacks and play games!” Yoosung nodded happily before turning around and walking towards his kitchen. Lilly watched him out of the corner of her eye as he searched his cupboards for snacks. He came back with a bag of cheap, generic brand chips and cheese puffs. Lilly got excited as she quickly snagged the bag of cheese puffs up before opening them. “I love cheese puffs!” She then stuffed a handful into her mouth. “I like licking the cheese powder off my fingers afterwards.” She admitted, before doing that exact thing.

“Ew, that's disgusting,” Yoosung laughed regardless of his comment.

“I can lick the powder off your fingers too!” She joked, wiggling her eyebrows ‘seductively’. Yoosung gave her an unamused look.

“No thanks, I'm good.” As he walked back to the kitchen she noticed he was blushing slightly. “What do you want to drink?” He suddenly asked as she heard the fridge open.

“Anything you have is fine.” She replied, stuffing her face with more delicious cheese puffs.

“Ph D. Pepper it is,” Lilly heard the fridge close as Yoosung plopped himself down next to her. He handed her one of the drinks he had gotten for them, a bright smile on his face. Lilly thanked him before opening the drink with a pop; as Yoosung went to turn on the tv in front of them. He began to set everything up for their gaming session together, stumbling through his plethora of games to find a multiplayer one. The sound of plastic CD cases clacking together could be heard as he pulled out a Nimtendo game. It had the image of a mustached man on the front, sitting in what appeared to be a go-kart along with many other colourful characters.

“You know…” Yoosung piped up shyly as Lilly took a sip from the drink he had given her. Her eyes drifted over to him as he started to speak. He was fiddling with the game’s CD, struggling to insert it into the console through his nervousness.

“No, I don’t.” Was her immediate response, she almost burst out laughing when his expression changed to that of irritation. Though she fought to keep her expression serious.

“I didn’t even finish what I was saying yet!” He finally got the disc in and the game began to load.

“Sorry, continue,” she then made a motion with her hands for him to do so.

“You’re the first friend I’ve had over since I moved in here.” He admitted shyly, averting his eyes as he sat back down again. Lilly stared at him, she stayed silent as if waiting for him to continue. Though that was far from her goal, as a smirk spread on her lips. She could tell she was making him progressively more uncomfortable with the silence that spread between them. She then let out an unnecessarily loud, forced laugh which caused Yoosung to practically jump out of his skin. He fell onto his back, his hand on his chest and his breathing ragged.

“Lilly, don’t do that!” He yelled angrily, as Lilly’s laugh became genuine. She was snorting between each breath.

“Anyways, you’re a loser.” She stated, out of breath. She then went to grab one of the controllers and started up the game for them. Yoosung sat back up and grabbed a controller of his own. He now wore a scowl on his face and looked even more nervous and fidgety then before. As they started up their first game, he said nothing. He constantly made mistakes like his character ramming into easily avoidable obstacles and he seemed lost in his own world. Lilly looked over at him, guilt creeping up her spine. Shit, did she upset him? She was just joking around. Maybe she was too harsh?

“Sorry, I-”

“It’s fine.” She stared at him, completely tuning out the game in front of her. Shoot, he really didn’t look happy. A panicked feeling was now spreading its way through her body as her palms started to feel cold and sweaty. She removed her glasses, laying them beside her. She then turned back towards him. She felt she looked more serious with them off. She got closer to him, using the palms of her hands as leverage. Their eyes met, their faces inches from each other. Yoosungs breath hitched as he stared at her, a blush spreading across his cheeks and trailing down his neck. Oh yeah, this was probably the first time he was seeing her eyes since her glasses weren’t see-through. Well, one of her eyes, the other was blocked by her bangs.

“I think you’re cute though,” she whispered, a soft smile gracing her lips. Yoosung just stared at her for a second or two like he had no clue what to say. His breath fanning across her features.

“R-really?” he stuttered, his blush was getting more intense as time seemed to slowly tick by.

“Yeah, anyway stop being such a grump.” She sat back in her original position. “We got a game to play!” Yoosung nodded, distractedly, as they went back to playing.

The rest of the night, Yoosung continued to lose focus on the game. Though at least he seemed happier. He began to glance over at her at every opportunity and tried his best to keep her glasses off her face. It got to a point where she just gave up and left them on the floor. He also became a lot more talkative as the conversation drifted to how he failed a pop quiz that day but he felt more motivated to study. Lilly just listened quietly and added in the odd comment or nod, she was just glad she hadn’t made him hate her. She tended to say stupid things, a lot.


	3. Please Just Tell Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lilly goes out with some friends, Yoosung and Lilly have an emotional chat over the phone and Castiel knows what's up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know, I honestly didn't like writing this chapter all that much but I felt it was necessary to show Lilly's relationships outside the main romance. Maybe you think differently? Anyways, as always please leave your feedback down in the comment section below. I look forward to hearing your thoughts and any constructive criticism you may have (don't be rude, I'm trying to improve). Thank you and enjoy.

Soft snoring could be heard drifting from Lilly’s mouth as she curled herself up into a smaller ball. Her room was almost completely blanketed in darkness, no light getting through her blackout curtains. Even her shrimp were sleeping, hiding among the aquatic plants they called home. The soft glow of the aquarium’s heater was the only thing that occasionally pierced through the darkness. “Mmm….” Lilly pulled her comforter up closer to her chin, becoming one with her pillows.

The door to her room suddenly slammed open, causing light to pour in and destroying the peaceful slumber she fought so hard to stay in. Her immediate reaction was to pull the covers over her head and grumble in irritation. There was only one person she knew with the audacity to do this and it wasn’t her brother.

“Lilly, Do you know what time it is?!” Great, just what she needed when she woke up. A screeching banshee, I mean Rina. Lilly simply remained quiet in response to Rina rudely disturbing her sleep. Maybe she’ll go away if she pretends to not be here.  
With a swoosh, the blankets were flung right off her and onto the floor. The cold air that surrounded the once warm sheets immediately took refuge on her body. She shivered slightly, opening her eyes and peering around. It felt like her eyes had been glued shut and the glue still hadn’t dried yet. “Get up! Did you forget your plans today?”

“Plans? What day is it? Where am I? Are we in an alternate universe where you’re my bitchy housewife?”

“Stop goofing around and get up.” She could hear Rina shuffling around the room as she drew the curtains.

“I’m not goofing,” Lilly whined as she rolled onto her side before sitting up and sliding off the bed. She then went to start looking through her closet for some clothes to wear. “But I seriously forgot, what were we doing again?” Lilly now had her outfit hanging from her arms.

“Of course you did,” Rina sighed irritatedly. “You said; I’ll see you and Yoonmi this Saturday, I promise.” She made sure to mock Lilly’s voice when repeating what she had said, in the worst way possible. “Since you didn’t come last month, the last time we met up.”

“I was busy, I told you. Besides I’m going now. ” Lilly replied, her voice getting progressively whinier as she made her way towards the bathroom. “Geeze, I can’t believe it’s the weekend already.”  
Rina went to follow her, her high heel landing on an empty chip bag in the process that Lilly had thrown on the floor sometime last night. It made a soft crinkle as Rina put her weight on it. Lilly; upon hearing the noise of her garbage being found outside the bin, began sprinting towards the bathroom. She slammed the door just as Rina yelled at her to come and pick it up. Rina also made sure to call her an ungrateful slob, as usual.

 

“Gah, it’s kinda chilly out today,” Lilly whined as she made her way down a crowded sidewalk. Her breath came out in visible puffs due to how low the temperature had gotten. “Good thing I told Castiel to wear a jacket,” Castiel’s hand was wrapped around hers as they walked together.

“I told you to wear a jacket, It’s good you’re mindful of your brother but put a little more care into your own health too.” Rina nagged, Lilly almost forgot Rina was there. Well not really, more like she wanted to forget Rina was there. “and stop eating all that junk food.”

“Blah blah blah, I thought we’re out to have fun,” Lilly replied, turning her attention to the man walking next to Rina. He was wearing formal clothing and had been following Rina around since the moment they stepped out of her apartment complex. He looked pretty average, he had short black hair and dark brown, almost black eyes. He almost seemed, unnecessarily nervous. “Anyways who’s the boy toy? A stalker?”

“Lilly, stop making such crude comments around people you don’t know. They’re going to get a bad impression of you.” Ugh, did Rina always nag her this much? “Also he introduced himself the moment we set foot on the sidewalk. Did you forget?” her voice was laced with irritation.

“No, I just wasn’t paying attention. My brother had a much more interesting story to discuss with me~”

“He was talking about a children’s novel he read, how is that more interesting?”

“Anything that comes out of his mouth is more interesting.”

“Ugh, well this is Shin Kan, my assistant.” Shin smiled politely at her, giving a slight bow of the head.

“He seems boring. Though I see why you’d want to hide your secret relationship with him. Journalists expect you to go out with a much flashier guy.” Lilly was smacked over her head upon the conclusion of her joke. “Ow, my head!”

“Stop saying stupid things!” Rina looked pissed, but her assistant practically had a blush from head to toe. Hmm~ closeted crush? Nah.

“Rina, it was just a joke~” Lilly drawled, sticking out her tongue playfully.

“Don’t make me hit you again so you end up biting it!”

“Gah!” Lilly immediately retracted her tongue as they continued walking.

“A-anyways…” Rina’s new assistant stuttered out, drawing Lilly’s attention. “It’s nice to meet you, Miss Churchill.” He then turned to Castiel and said something similar to him as well.

“Miss Churchill? Just call me Lilly. Stop being so unnecessarily formal.” They stopped at the front of a nearby café. Standing in front of it impatiently was none other than Yoonmi. Who was glaring daggers at Lilly. Her blonde, curly hair was tied in a neat ponytail as it cascaded down her faux fur coat.

“I wonder why you're all late.” She said sarcastically, there was a bite to her words as she continued to stare at Lilly.

“I proposed to Rina and we're getting married tomorrow.” Her expression didn't waver as Rina let out an irritated sigh.

“Let's get in before Lilly turns into a popsicle since she didn't bring a jacket,” Rina groaned out. Shin quickly went to hold the door open as they all entered. A chime could be heard as the door opened. The smell of freshly baked goods wafted through the air as patrons sat and enjoyed their orders. The place looked rather expensive and fancy.  
Castiel tugged at Lilly's sleeve before pointing at a delicious looking cake someone was already enjoying; signalling he wanted some too. Lilly quickly nodded in response.

“Why is that my problem? She does this every time.”

“No, last time I didn't come at all.” Yoonmi rolled her eyes, before crossing her arms as they all sat down at an empty table after ordering and receiving their food.  
For the next hour Lilly sat and watched Yoonmi and Rina talk, Castiel occasionally piping in with his own comments. Though Lilly just stared absentmindedly at her plate, for some reason the thought of eating the pastry she bought was making her feel sick.

“Lilly, Why aren’t you saying anything? Usually, you’re stuffing your face like a pig while making stupid, inappropriate jokes by now.” Yoonmi piped up, looking her up and down.

“I suddenly feel sick.”

“I told you to stop eating junk food,” Rina replied irritatedly, though her voice was subtly laced with worry. “Here I have some nausea medication.” She added as she reached into her purse to retrieve it.

“Thanks…” Rina was giving her a worried look as she handed her the bottle of medication. Castiel also seemed concerned, her mood had drastically shifted and not even she had an answer as to why.

“Lilly, you know if there is something you want to talk about-”

“I’m fine.” Lilly was quick to cut Rina off. “Anyways, wasn’t there something wrong with your computer that you wanted me to look at?” It was an obvious change of subject but Rina didn’t push it any further, neither did Yoonmi or Castiel. Though Yoonmi didn’t seem all too worried, simply confused. Shin simply continued to type away at a laptop he had pulled out sometime while everyone was chatting, completely ignoring what was going on.

“Oh yeah, I almost forgot.”

 

Lilly was now laying on her bed staring up at the ceiling, she hadn’t eaten anything all day. When she had gotten home from her outing and made dinner with Castiel; she had thrown her portion out behind his back. For some reason, she felt sick to her stomach about everything. She could also feel a minor headache coming on as she rolled onto her side and groaned. Maybe she had eaten too much junk food?

Suddenly her phone, which lay face down on her comforter; began to vibrate wildly while her ringtone played its usual catchy tune. She turned the phone towards her, squinting as the brightness from the screen hit her unprepared eyes. It was an unknown number. She stared at it, tempted to decline the call and toss the phone away. Though her fingers practically moved upon their own will and she accepted the call before bringing it to her ear.

“Hello?”

“Lilly!” It was Yoosung; he sounded like he had just run a marathon multiple times over without a break.

“Um, is everything okay?”

“That’s what I was just about to ask you!”

“Huh? Why?”

“You weren’t replying to me or Zen’s texts and you went home late last night and I kinda got upset with you and you seemed kinda upset and, and, and...” Yoosung began rambling energetically; quickly going from word to word faster than a chipmunk on drugs. It was hard to keep up with, to say the least.

“Sorry I was out with a few friends, I wasn’t really paying attention.”

“Oh, thank gosh~” Yoosung let out a relieved sigh. “By the way, sorry, I kinda got Zen worried too.” Yoosung let out an apologetic laugh. “Also now all the RFA members know that both me and Zen know a ‘mysterious’ girl named Lilly as well as that we were both worried about her at the same time. Seven made this speculation that there’s a weird love triangle going on. It was kinda embarrassing. Heh heh. He’s just joking, right? He doesn’t really believe that does he?”

“Tell him my eyes only see him, in a cute maid outfit~” Lilly replied playfully, winking even though he couldn’t see it.

“Gah! Lilly, no! Don’t remind me!”

“So am I some kind of celebrity in your organization now? You should ask them if I could join. I’m really good at doing absolutely nothing. I’m sure my skills will be put to good use.” Yoosung let out a laugh.

“The RFA hasn't really been active since…” Yoosung trailed off. Lilly waited for him to continue, but the silence between them persisted longer than she was comfortable with.

“Yoosung?” Her voice was laced with worry.

“Uh-uh sorry!” Yoosung eventually sputtered out. “I got lost in thought for a second there, heh heh” he let out a nervous chuckle.

“Um, sure.”

“Anyways I don't think Jaehee would like it very much if I asked for you to join and said that you're only skill is doing absolutely nothing.” He joked causing Lilly to let out a snort filled laugh.

“Is Jaehee the leader or decision maker of the RFA or something?”

“V is the head of the RFA, he basically, completely disappeared since Rika left us.” there was disdain in his voice.

“Were him and Rika close?”

“Who cares?!” Yoosung suddenly exclaimed, causing Lilly to jump. Maybe that was the wrong question to ask. “He does absolutely nothing now and I wonder if he's fit to be the head at all!” He added, he must really hate this V person. “Ever since Rika left us he won't tell us anything about why she did it!” Yoosung sounded exasperated now, he was yelling and seemed almost on the brink of bursting into tears. Did what? “Even if I was serious about asking you to join, he would ignore it and Seven only listens to him. Seven would need permission from V to give you access to the Messenger app we use. So he wouldn't do anything like that on his own.” He explained, his voice shaky. “I wonder what secrets they're keeping from everyone since every time anyone asks all I hear about is secrets I'll never know!” Yoosung was now crying, she could hear him take a deep breath between each sob. There was a pause as she listened to him try to control his breathing. She felt this wasn't the time to speak just yet. “S-sorry I always seem to get emotional in front of you. It's embarrassing, I'm a man. I shouldn't be crying in front of women or anyone really.”

“It's okay to cry, you can talk to me about anything. I know we haven't known each other long but I'll try my best to be there for you.” There was another pause and a sniffle before Yoosung let out a soft but genuine laugh.

“I feel a bit better. H-have you eaten dinner yet?” He stuttered.

“That's such a random shift in topics.”

“I forgot the whole point of me calling was to ask if you were okay, but I got so worked up when you mentioned joining the RFA.” He let out a breathy laugh. “I still need to do that and make sure you eat properly.”

“Do you think I'm similar to Rika? Maybe I could help in the same way she did?” Lilly asked uncertainly. Her voice almost dropping to a whisper, she was afraid she would upset him again.

“Um, uh-”

“Sorry that was an insensitive question, I shouldn't have asked!” Lilly suddenly exclaimed.

“It's okay,” Yoosung let out a soft chuckle. “But I don't really think you're anything like Rika; not in a bad way though. You guys just act differently and look so different too.” Lilly let out a soft 'oh’ in response. “But it would be nice if we could host parties again. I think everyone is kinda hoping for that.”

“I could help host parties! I could make really cool themes and then pick decorations that match that theme. I'm thinking the first RFA party should be space themed!”

Yoosung let out a laugh “Space themed? Why space themed? Also, Rika helped persuade guests to come by sending them emails; Jaehee and Jumin usually deal with the venue, decorations, etcetera.”

“Okay, guests are fine. I'll just make a bot to send out millions of emails to tons of celebrities and other important people!” Lilly replied enthusiastically.

“You would just persuade them, Lilly. The other RFA members would find them for you.” Yoosung laughed in response to her enthusiasm.

“What?! So I only persuade guests with emails that you guys happen to recommend?” Yoosung replied with a yep. “But that's lame, I'm like, doing nothing. Surely Rika did more than that?”

“Rika did a lot of things, but I don't know if everyone would trust you enough to take over everything. Since there are so many secrets not even I know.” Yoosung's voice became clouded with sadness again. “Besides you'll probably never join anyways.”

“Hey, no pessimism. If I don't join, I don't join. We can still have fun together, right?” Yoosung suddenly started choking on his own spit, his breathing becoming erratic. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah-yeah! Let's have fun together, just me and you.” he sputtered, she could hear him fidgeting with something. “Um anyways, you didn't answer whether or not you had eaten yet.” He sounded embarrassed about something, for some reason.

“Oh, about that, I'm kinda feeling sick so I kept skipping meals today,” Lilly replied like she was confessing her sins to God himself.

“What?! You're sick and you haven't eaten? I'll make you some soup and I'll come over right away! Do you need anything else? Maybe I'll get you something to keep you hydrated too.”

“Aren't you overreacting? I'm sure it's nothing, but homemade soup from you does sound nice. I don't want you to go through the work of cooking for me though.”

“It's nothing, really! I just want to make sure you're healthy, I don't want you getting sick.You should always make sure you eat and stay hydrated.”

“You seriously don't need to go out of your way to do anything for me.” Lilly began to feel a depressing lump growing in the pit of her stomach. For somebody like me, is more like it. A disgusting person who will never be good enough for the people in her life. Maybe she should stop adding more then.

“I want to, so it's fine. What do you like in your soup? Actually, what's your address? I should probably ask that if I want to find your place tomorrow.” He chuckled, letting out a breath. Lilly groaned as her headache suddenly got a lot more painful. It was practically pounding by this point as she rolled onto her other side as if that would change anything. “Lilly?” He sounded worried.

“Sorry, I have a bad headache. I'm going to go to bed. Um, you'll have to buzz at the gate and then get a guest pass in the lobby. Security is relatively tight here; guards patrol the gardens and there are a few that walk down the halls occasionally. There are also security cameras everywhere.”

“Seriously? Wow. Your place has its own garden area?”

“Yeah, it's relatively big. There's a pond full of koi I like to visit for picnics in the summer. Jumin's cousin and my childhood friend, Rina, recommend this place to me.” Lilly explained, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Maybe we can have a picnic there when it gets warmer.”

“Yeah!” Lilly jumped at him suddenly yelling, pulling the phone slightly farther away from her ear. “I mean-y-yeah, I’d love that,” he sounded embarrassed again. Lilly nodded, even though he couldn’t see her; before giving him her address. Though she had to repeat it a few times as he struggled to remember it when writing it down.

“Stay in bed okay? I’ll be there first thing tomorrow morning. I don’t want you to get any worse by getting up.” Lilly thought he was being rather hasty and was overreacting a little too much, but it felt good to have somebody care so much.

“Alright, I’ll look forward to a delicious soup. It better not suck~” her voice was playful.

“Of course it won’t, don’t doubt me~”

“Peace out, girl scout!” She moved the phone away from her face entirely before tapping the large, red, end call button. The screen then went black as she dropped her phone next to her on the bed. She let out a sigh as she moved her head to rest on the nearest pillow. She clamped her eyes shut as her head felt ready to burst by this point.  
Her bedroom door creaked open and then shut. She didn’t bother to open her eyes, she already knew who it was. She felt the bed dip as her brother crawled towards her before tugging gently on her sleeve.

“Yeah?” She whispered, acknowledging she was listening but not wanting to open her eyes.

“W-why didn’t you eat?” She felt a shock wave of guilt run a course down her spine. Shit, he found out. How? Had he been listening to her call? She had taken out the garbage, so it’s not like he could look in the trash.

“Sorry, bud, I’m not feeling good,” She whispered. She let out an ‘oof’ when she felt him smack his head against her chest before resting it there. At first, the two sat there in silence, Castiel resting his head against Lilly’s chest. That was until Lilly heard him start to cry. This immediately got her to shoot up into a sitting position, despite the pain, as she inspected him for injuries. She grabbed his face and forced him to look up at her. Tears were running down his pudgy cheeks and his big blue eyes stared at hers. There was a frown on his face as his lips quivered.  
“What’s wrong?! Are you hurt!” She exclaimed, worry laced between each word very strongly.

“Why don’t you ever tell me or Ms. Rina what’s wrong? She tries to ignore it when you tell her to, but I can’t!” He exclaimed, sniffling. “I know something is wrong. I’m your brother, I’m your family. Stop underestimating me just because I’m younger than you.” He rubbed his eyes with the back of his sleeve, getting it wet and covered in a trail of snot. “I feel sometimes like I’m just a burden to you and that you’d be much happier without me.”

“What? That’s not true, everything I do is for you.”

“Exactly, stop it. I want to be your little brother, not a burden, not something to make you feel sad every day.” Lilly stared at him, she wasn’t sure what to say. Had Rina put him up to this? Were these words his own?

“I just want you to have a bright future.” He suddenly hugged her tight, burying his face in her chest again.

“Just the fact that you’re here, already makes it bright enough,” he replied. Lilly sat there and held him for what felt like hours. Although the sentiment was nice, she didn’t feel the same at all. Though she would try her best to take what he said to heart.


	4. Accidents Happen, I Suppose

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yoosung brings some soup, they watch a movie and then go for a short walk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this chapter is kind of cute, though I feel I made Yoosung OOC? I don't know, please let me know what you think about this (and maybe how I could fix it?). As always please leave a comment down below telling me what you think about anything (what I could fix or just what you like). I would much appreciate some constructive criticism (don't be rude, I'm trying to improve). Anyways, thanks and enjoy!

“Yoosung, what is this?” Lilly was staring at the steaming hot bowl of soup that Yoosung had prepared for her, in disbelief. Inside it sat a whole chicken, stuffed with garlic, rice and a few other things she couldn’t identify. It was a very hearty meal to say the least and one she wasn’t planning on finishing. Although she had woken up feeling much better than she did last night; her appetite wasn’t back up to par.

“Ginseng chicken soup.” He replied, giving Lilly a warm smile as he sat next to her and Castiel at her dining room table. He put both elbows on the table and rested his chin in the palms of his hands, as he looked at her with expectant eyes.

“I don’t know if I can finish a whole chicken~” She drawled, picking up her utensils to at least try. Yoosung went through all this work to make it; so she might as well suck it up and eat it. “I can pay you back by the way, if the ingredients were expensive. I know you’re a struggling college student so I don’t want to waste your money.”

“You’re a struggling college student too, ya know?” He stuck out his tongue playfully. “Probably even more so since you have to look after your little brother.” He added, acknowledging Castiel, who smiled shyly in response. “Besides, I already got a repayment in Honey Buddha Chips. So I’m good!” He exclaimed, waving the packet of chips he stole from Lilly’s cupboards. He had a proud smile on his face as he did so.

“Hey, don’t steal my chips!”

“Hehe~ too late I already did,” Yoosung then opened the bag of chips he took without permission. She angrily stuffed a piece of chicken in her mouth before glaring at her soup, in response. She wasn’t actually upset, she just liked playing.  
Yoosung watched her every move like a hawk, wanting to know exactly what she thought of his hard work. The moment the chicken hit her tongue, she started chewing. It was really good! Her expression immediately started to soften after tasting the chicken fully. A bright smile pulled the corners of Yoosungs lips, up to the ends of his cheeks.  
“You like it?” He was definitely smug now.

“I haven’t even responded yet,” Lilly could feel her cheeks start to warm up.

“You like it!” He exclaimed, pumping his fist up in the air. “Just admit it!”

“Okay maybe, it kind of surprised me,” She admitted.

“Oh come on, just say it’s good~”

“Fine, it’s good.” By this point, her cheeks were a bright red and she was fidgeting with her sleeves.

“Told ya~” He let out a proud laugh before shoving a chip in his mouth as a prize for his victory.

“Ugh, why did I let you in again? Maybe I should’ve left you out in the cold.”

“Then I would’ve waited outside like a stalker~” He mocked her voice.

“Hey, don’t steal my lines!” Yoosung was laughing rather hard at this point; his blonde hair bounced and his cheeks were a rosy colour. Lilly let as a sigh as she watched him, a smile gracing her lips. She felt light and springy again like a weight was lifted off her chest. So she barely noticed Castiel stealing some of her soup out of curiosity.

 

Lilly flicked on the TV before plopping herself down in between Castiel and Yoosung, on her couch. Yoosung on her right while Castiel was on her left.  
She grabbed some blankets that had been neatly folded on the back of the couch before draping it over herself and Yoosung. Castiel had his own blanket, which was his favourite. It was purple and covered in little white rabbits.

“So what movie should we watch, huh?” Lilly asked, pulling the glass coffee table forward. It was covered with a random assortment of snacks and drinks she had scrounged from her cupboards and fridge. The salty snacks were closer to Castiel since he didn’t really care for sweet things. Of course, Honey Buddha Chips were on Yoosung’s side. Lilly didn’t really care what she had; except maybe cheese puffs, but she was fresh out of those.

“Um, uh-” Yoosung seemed embarrassed about something. He glanced between Lilly and the blankets covering himself multiple times.

“How about a horror movie?” Lilly smirked when she saw Yoosung visibly shiver. She could tell he wasn’t a regular horror moviegoer.

“Wha-?! No way!” He suddenly exclaimed, bringing his knees up to his chest. “I don’t like horror movies…”

“Awe, don’t be scared Yoosung. I’ll protect you, my darling~” Lilly teased, wrapping an arm around his back, before forcefully bringing him closer. His head rested a little too close to her chest and his hair brushed her neck, as her arms practically encompassed him in a hug.  
A blush erupted on Yoosung’s face, as he tried to prevent his breathing from becoming erratic. There was a pause, as no one spoke.  
“Anyways…” she released one of her arms from his body but kept his head on her shoulder with the other. She then grabbed the remote again and flicked through her movies before landing on a superhero flick. Which she then proceeded to hit play on.

“Since Yoosung is a baby, we’ll have to watch this,” Castiel giggled.

“I-I should be the one protecting you!” he sputtered, agitatedly “and C-Castiel shouldn’t be watching horror movies anyways!” Yoosung retaliated, though he made no move to remove himself from her shoulder.

“Protect me? That’s so noble of you~” Lilly replied in a sarcastic tone, as the opening scene of the movie started playing. “I was joking, anyway,” she added as she rested her head against the top of his, causing his breathing to hitch. His large violet eyes widened as Lilly began prodding his scalp with the tip of one of her fingers. Eventually, this turned into swirling strands of his hair around her digits.

“W-what are you doing?” Yoosung felt as if he had been frozen in place. Though his body felt like the complete opposite of frozen. He was feeling light and warm with no logical explanation.

“Your hair is soft. What shampoo do you use?” He wanted so badly to push Lilly off, but at the same time, the way she ran her fingers through his hair was borderline therapeutic. He could feel his eyelids grow slightly heavy. “Huh, are these your roots? I didn’t know you dyed your hair. Cute~” Okay, now he was definitely hot and bothered. His breathing became slightly more erratic at the contact and compliments combined. Lilly eventually stopped though and turned her attention back to the TV. The sudden movement of the movie, distracting her.

Yoosung began to clench and unclench his fists, almost immediately, in frustration at the sudden lack of contact. He wrapped his hand around the blankets covering both him and Lilly before pulling them up to his chin. He nudged Lilly’s hand with his head; a silent sign that he didn’t want her to stop. What the heck was he doing? Friends don’t give each other pats on the head. Though Lilly was weird, he had already established that much. Though maybe he wasn’t any more normal than she was.

Lilly didn’t even glance his way before subconsciously starting up again. She would always do this with Castiel, so it was like second nature to her. Though she was kind of forgetting that it wasn’t Castiel she was petting.

Yoosung scooched closer to her. He was like a puppy trying to get a scratch behind the ear. But he also felt warm and calm like all his troubles disappeared in this one moment. His eyes instinctively shut, and his breathing became slow and steady. For some reason, imagining he was with Rika made him feel even better. He had no clue how his mind had travelled to her. Maybe Lilly’s touch was very similar to her own? He didn’t know, but what he did know is that she wasn’t here and that she never would be, ever again. The thought made him sad; but maybe he could pretend, just for this short while; that Lilly and Rika were the same person. He felt warmer, as he closed his eyes. His focus on the movie had completely disappeared. All he could think about was his fond memories with Rika. A smile graced his lips as he did so and he snuggled in closer to Lilly.

What felt like hours passed like this. He completely forgot that he had agreed to watch a movie until suddenly he was awoken from his daydream. Lilly was poking his cheek; prodding it, instead of his head. He opened his eyes again and was met with her own. He was suddenly enraptured by them; when had she taken off her glasses?

“Hey don’t fall asleep on me, I don’t need you drooling everywhere.” She joked, letting out a snort that was supposed to be a laugh. “I bet you snore like a pig~” She teased.  
Okay, Rika and Lilly were nothing alike. Yoosung’s dream had been completely shattered now. He focused his attention back on the TV which was now off. Huh? He thought they were watching a movie, what happened?

“Where’s the movie?” He asked, his voice groggy.

Lilly started laughing, “Man, you must have really been out of it. The movie ended, like, thirty minutes ago.”

“What? No way!” He exclaimed, shooting up into a sitting position. Though he ended up slamming his head into Lilly’s chin in his haste which caused her to fall onto her back and Yoosung to lose balance and fall on top of her.

“Ow…” She groaned, rubbing her chin with her hand.

“I’m so sorry!” He apologized, using his hands to push himself back up. He positioned them on either side of her head; while her legs were partly spread with one of his legs in the middle of the two. Though he wasn’t concerned with his position as he went to inspect her face for any injuries. “I really didn’t mean to, are you okay?” His voice was dripping with worry. Castiel seemed to be nowhere in sight too.

“Uh, yeah I’m fine. You just grazed it luckily.” She replied, taking her hand away from her chin and looking up at him. Yoosung sighed in relief, as they stared at each other. Silence engulfed the two as his eyes began to drift down her body. Her skirt had been slightly hitched up. Her hoodie was also off of one of her shoulders, bunched up in the middle of her right arm. Her bangs were now completely out of her face as her hair cascaded around her head like a halo.  
Yoosung’s heart practically stopped in response to their position and the state she was in. He could feel a lump grow in his throat, that he tried to swallow. His body was on fire, but he didn’t want to get up.  
“You’re beautiful…” He blurted out, his face instinctively drawing closer to her own. His breath was now fanning across her cheeks. He didn't know where he was going with this, but one thing was certain. He wanted to feel her lips on his own.

Lilly was also captivated for a short while but quickly forced herself to snap out of her trance-like state. She couldn't do this; She was not worthy of being in a romantic relationship. He deserved someone so much better than her. Plus, this was probably just a decision made in the moment. He always sounded desperate when talking about how he was single. She reasoned with herself before reaching over and grabbing the nearest snack from the coffee table.

“Yoosung, don’t get so close~,” She said in a playful tone before shoving a chip into his mouth. Yoosung coughed and sputtered as she sat up when he was finally off of her. He eventually chewed and swallowed the chip, turning to glare at her angrily.

“What was that for? I could’ve choked to death, ya know?!” He exclaimed.

“Not my fault you're a pervert. I mean, I could’ve slapped you instead~” She winked.

Yoosung stared at her for a second with a look of confusion plastered on his face as if processing what she had just said. It slowly dawned on him when she started adjusting her clothes. He instantly became extremely embarrassed. “I’m so sorry!” He began waving his hands in front of his face apologetically. He could feel his insides churn, hopefully, he didn’t go too far.

“Hah, it’s fine. I didn’t mind, I get it. Mistakes happen, whatever.” She replied picking up her glasses from the coffee table before placing them back on her face. She stood up and stretched her arms up over her head. “Mmmm~” She heard Yoosung suddenly shift awkwardly.

“D-don’t make noises like that.”

“What?”

“Uh, n-nevermind!” Yoosung’s voice was panicked, as he began to sweat profusely. Lilly gave him a look but didn’t badger him further.

“Anyways, let's go for a walk. I need to stretch my legs~” She then started making her way towards the door.

Yoosung quickly stood up and turned to look at her, “A walk? Aren’t you not feeling well? Won’t it make you worse? I was already kind of skeptical about you getting out of bed this morning.”

“That’s just cause you wanted to get in with me,” She joked, causing Yoosung to start choking all over again.

“No, I didn’t!” He yelled, following after her. She was laughing at him now which caused him to blush in embarrassment.

“You’re so funny, Yoosung. Your reactions to things are priceless, you know that?” She said as she began putting on her shoes.

“I’m glad one of us thinks it’s funny.” He grumbled as he put on his shoes as well before grabbing his coat. “But wait, what about Castiel?”

“He’ll be fine, this place is fully secured. Plus it’s just a walk, I’ll be back.” She replied before opening the door, after grabbing her keys and stuffing it into her hoodie's pocket. “I have to take my cute girlfriend home after all. Wouldn’t want her walking home in the dark by herself.” Lilly teased as she went into another fit of laughter.

“Hey! And it's not even dark out.”

 

Lilly's shoes skid across the ground as she walked lazily next to Yoosung. Surprisingly the sidewalk wasn't too busy today, though she couldn't say the same for the road. The tires of the cars made a sloshing noise as they moved along the wet pavement. The snow was melting again; covering the ground with a brown slush and creating large, dirty puddles around storm drains. Though everything would probably freeze again knowing the unstable weather conditions that made up the majority of February.

“Today's weather sucks. It's been cloudy all day.” Lilly whined, making gestures with her hands as she spoke.

“It was sunny this morning. I guess it's getting colder again.” Yoosung replied, looking up at the sky for a moment. There was silence once more between them as they continued walking. Birds chirped, people chatted and cars annoyingly honked their horns impatiently at one another.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Yoosung constantly glance towards her. He would open his mouth then quickly shut it, and not say anything. She just ignored it at first, opting to think that he would say whatever he needed to when he was ready. However, it got to a point where it started to annoy her. So she turned her head to look at him, “what is it? I can tell you want to say something.” Her voice was subtly laced with irritation.

“I-I was wondering…” his trailed off and he averted his eyes. He began to fiddle with the hem of his sleeve.

“Yes?” She pushed him to continue.

“Can I ask what might be, kind of an insensitive question?” His voice dropped to a whisper and he sounded unsure.

“Uh, sure?”

“Where are your parents and why are you looking after your little brother all by yourself?” He finally asked after what felt like an hour of silence.

“My mother is in jail and my grandmother passed away during my graduation from high school. I haven’t seen my father in years...”

“Wait, what?!” He exclaimed, his eyes growing wide in surprise.

“Listen, I don't want to go into detail. Can we just drop this?” she could already feel her mood slowly going down the drain along with the melting snow.

“But…” Lilly gave him a look, and he gulped audibly. He was still extremely curious, but there was no point in pushing if it would just make her upset. “Actually, nevermind.”  
Lilly was silent as they continued on their way. She stared down at her shoes, her eyes tracing the blue and white patterns that covered them. She tried her best to prevent any past memories from coming up, regarding her family. She didn’t want to ruin the mood. Today had been such a good day and it would be her that would ruin it if she started getting upset.

Yoosung watched her tentatively. He could feel a nervous kind of nausea beginning to build up in his stomach. He was starting to regret opening his mouth and asking. He knew it must have been a sensitive subject but curiosity got the best of him. He scanned her expression, She was visibly frowning and keeping her eyes away from him.

“I’m sorry,” he finally got out after what felt like an eternity of silence. She looked over at him, her frown deepening.

“No I should be sorry, I’m ruining everything right now. It shouldn’t matter to me anymore, b-but it does.” She suddenly stopped in her tracks; Yoosung continued to walk for a few more seconds before stopping when he noticed she wasn’t following.

“Lilly?” His voice dripped with worry as he reached towards her. Lilly wrapped her arms around herself; her face was clouded in darkness as her bangs prevented any light from hitting her features properly.

“Things would be fine if I was better. Things would be fine if I just worked harder.” She whispered to no one in particular.

“What do you mean? Are those things bad now? What’s wrong?” His hands were on her shoulders now. He was staring directly at her face, waiting for her to explain.

She adjusted her glasses, “Sorry I-” they were cut off as a car flew by, its wheels hitting a hole in the road with a bang that startled them both. A loud splash could be heard as a gust of wind blew Lilly’s hair into her face. She closed her eyes as she could suddenly feel herself get forcefully moved and pushed against the nearest wall. Air escaped her lungs as her back made contact with the cold, hard surface. “Gah!” Her glasses flew off her face and into the nearest, disgusting puddle. Just great, now her mood was definitely ruined. Shit, was Yoosung okay? What happened? She tried to move forward but she felt something keeping her frozen in her current position.

She immediately opened her eyes and looked around quickly. She scanned her surroundings, feeling both panic-stricken and frightened. They eventually settled on Yoosung, who was directly in front of her. He was pinning her to the wall, his hands pushing her shoulders up against it; as his breathing came out laboured and erratic.

“Yoosung, are you okay?! You’re not hurt?!” She exclaimed, checking him up and down for any injuries. There were none, thank god, but she did notice something was off. He was completely drenched in muddy water. His once golden blonde hair was caked with mud and garbage; dripping down his face in long, disgusting strands. His coat was sopping wet, his pants and shoes weren’t any better off.

He started laughing, “That’s what I was just about to ask you.” Lilly stared at him, blinking in confusion. She then moved her hand up to his face, pushing his wet bangs out of his eyes and wiping off the dirt that surrounded them with her thumb. Despite his current state, he was giving her a goofy smile.

“Maybe our minds are connected.” She whispered, she realized they were but a hair’s breadth away from one another. Yoosung’s cheeks became tinted with a soft pink in response.

“You think?” His breath fanned across her cheeks, a stark contrast to the cold air that surrounded them. It sent a wave down her spine and into the pit of her stomach. They were staring into each other's eyes now, neither saying anything. Lilly felt the urge to lean in for the second time that day but quickly removed the thought from her mind. This really wasn’t the time to admit feelings that may or may not be real. “Lilly, Have you ever been in a relationship before?”

“Uh, why do you ask?” Especially soaked and caked in mud, was this really the time?

“Just wondering…” he trailed off; glancing to his side for a second, before looking back towards her.

“Yeah, me and Zen have been married for four years now.” She replied, trying to sound dead serious.

“Wait, what?! That doesn’t even make sense, Lilly, I’m being serious here.” There was a pause as a smile graced Yoosung’s lips, his gaze becoming soft. “So that must mean I’m your first…”

Lilly gave him an unamused look, “Are you having strange fantasies about me?” even though this is what came out of her mouth her heart was going a mile a minute. It felt as if it would explode from her chest; she needed to get away. “Because if you are, I’m never giving you honey buddha chips ever again.”

“What, no! I’m innocent, I would never think anything bad!” He exclaimed, removing his hands from her shoulders and waving them in front of his face.

“Anyways, let's head back to my place. You can take a bath and I’ll wash your clothes. You’ll catch a cold if we stay out here any longer.” Yoosung quickly nodded, before stepping away from her. She looked around her for her discarded glasses, groaning as she pulled them out of the nearest puddle, caked in dirt and grime. She shoved them in her pocket and followed Yoosung, who had already started walking.

“Y-you’d take care of me if I was sick, r-right?” He suddenly sputtered shyly as they made their way back. His face was a dark shade of red after asking that question.

“Nah, I’d laugh at you and watch you suffer,” She replied sarcastically, adjusting the glasses in her hoodie pocket so they weren’t jabbing into her stomach.

“Oh, well that sounds okay too. As long as you’re there…”

“What do you mean that sounds okay? What is wrong with you? Don’t keep someone like that in your life.”

“But you being mean sounds kind of, cute…” He whispered, licking his lips. Lilly was giving him a look of disbelief; what had she gotten herself into?


	5. What Is This?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lilly gets hurt, There's talk about Jumin and Lilly gets a mysterious message.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As usual, please leave any thoughts you may have in the comment section below, I would really appreciate it. Anyways, thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy. (I'm probably going to edit this later, I really couldn't focus for whatever reason while writing this chapter)

Tap, tap. “Hey, you okay in there?” Lilly called out, leaning against the wall near the entrance of her bathroom. She was slouched over slightly; one of her arms were wrapped around her midsection.

“Y-yeah!” Was her reply; She could hear Yoosung fumbling with something, before dropping it on the floor with a clack.

She decided to ignore the strange noise, “Well if you need anything, just give me a holler. I’ll be in the kitchen, cooking dinner with Castiel.” She then turned and walked away, letting out a sigh as she ran her hand along the back of her neck. Suddenly she could feel her pocket begin buzzing and vibrating wildly. She jumped and glanced around her, looking for an intruder before realizing it was just her phone. She pulled it out of her back pocket, focusing her attention on the screen. Zen’s name was displayed under a blank profile picture. The green accept call button and the red decline call button waited for her to make a decision. She chose to accept, before raising the phone to her ear. “Hello, this is Lilly’s Pizzeria! What can I get you?”

“Lilly’s Pizzeria?” He let out a laugh before going silent as if he was genuinely considering his order. “I’ll take one whole Lilly to go please~”

“Sorry, sir, we’re fresh out of Lilly; but we have a piping hot Yoosung, just prepared and ready for delivery.”

“Yoosung? No thanks, I’m good,” He chuckled. Lilly could hear the sound of him adjusting his phone, or sitting down. She really couldn’t tell. “Wait, is Yoosung at your place? He seemed really excited about something this morning, but it’s not that right? Especially at this hour?”

“Yeah, he’s here with me.”

“What?! A man at a lady’s house, at this hour? What is that boy thinking? He should go home immediately!”

“What are you, a school dean?” Lilly joked as she opened the fridge, scanning each shelf.

“Lilly, clearly you don’t understand. All men are beasts. Who knows what terrible things he could be thinking about you right now.” Zen explained as Lilly plopped various ingredients on the nearest, vacant counter space before closing the fridge.

“I think you’re worrying over nothing,” Lilly replied. She was not really paying much attention to what he was saying as she started climbing on the counter for a bowl that was on a high up on a shelf. One of her hands were compromised by the phone she needed to keep close to her ear; while the other tried reaching as far as she could extend it. She grumbled irritatedly as her fingers ghosted the edge of the bowl, only causing it to be pushed further away from her. “Why do I have to be so short!” She exclaimed exasperatedly, as she kept hitting the edge of the stainless steel bowl with her fingers. It would tip towards her as if taunting her, before going back, just before she could snag it. Zen started laughing on the other end after she made the comment about her being too short.

“Are you doing okay?” Zen asked. He seemed amused at her current predicament, even though he probably didn’t know what it was.

“I can’t reach this bowl,” Lilly voiced her frustration. It’s not like Zen was here to help, so why was she even telling him this? And how the hell did the bowl even get up to a place she couldn’t reach, anyway?

“Well don’t do anything dangerous.” As Zen said this she could hear the bathroom door open and close, though she ignored it and continued her mission to get the bowl.

“I’m fine,” She replied to Zen’s concerns. “Yes!” She exclaimed after finally, just barely gripping the edge of the bowl enough to pull it towards her. She edged the bowl forward as it teetered on the end of the shelf. “Almost there…” She tugged a little further before it came off the shelf fully. “Got it!” Though it was too early to cheer, as the bowl angrily slipped through her poor grip and straight onto her head. There was an audible bang, which sounded as painful as it felt.

Lilly dropped her phone as she could hear Zen suddenly begin yelling on the other end; though she wasn’t paying much attention to what he was saying. The phone clacked against the counter as the bowl, which had bounced of her head, landed right in front of her with a bang. It rolled on its side, off the edge of the counter and onto the floor only causing more noise. It finally stopped its tantrum as it came to a halt against the kitchen island.

Lilly’s hand shot up to the lump now forming on her head as her vision began to swirl for a split second. She leaned backwards, subconsciously, only to realize there was nothing there to support her back. She began to lose balance, flailing her arms wildly. Her body teetered backwards and off the counter as she let out a loud yelp that was mixed with fear and surprise. Panic shot through her as all that surrounded her was air. There was nowhere she could grip fast enough to stop herself from falling. She closed her eyes before giving into her inevitable fate of falling and cracking her head open on the tile flooring. Smack!

She opened her eyes slowly as she realized that hadn’t hurt as much as she thought it would. She moved her head to the side as her cheek brushed up against a white t-shirt. There were a pair of arms, tightly securing her midsection in place. She also noticed that she wasn’t anywhere near the floor.

“Lilly!” Lilly’s eyes drifted upwards towards Yoosung. He had tears pricking the corners of his usually cheerful eyes. His expression was plastered with worry, as he began to help Lilly down from the top of the counter. Once Lilly was back on her own two feet, she turned to look at Yoosung. Castiel was standing next to him and there was a look on his face like he had just seen a ghost. “What were you thinking? You could’ve hurt yourself really badly!” Yoosung was yelling, as he moved his hands up to part Lilly’s hair to get a better look at the angry red lump forming there. She had never thought Yoosung could get pissed, so she didn’t know how to react as he examined her injury. He accidentally prodded it, however, causing her to cringe in pain and let out a hiss. “I-I’ll get you some ice,” His voice was dripping with worry once again.

Castiel had already gone and done that though. He handed Yoosung an instant cold pack that they kept in a first aid kit for times like these. Lilly was prone to doing stupid things without thinking and getting herself hurt in the process.  
Yoosung quickly followed the instructions on the pack before applying it to her wound. Lilly let out another hiss, as the cold object made contact with bare skin. She went to grab the pack herself to hold against her head without anyone's help. Castiel then lead her to the couch where she sat down to have Yoosung yell at her some more.

“Why didn’t you ask me for help? I could’ve helped you get it down!”

“It’s not that big a deal, Yoosung,” Lilly replied. She felt awkward and a little uncomfortable having, Yoosung of all people, yell at her and scold her.

“It’s a big deal to me!” His voice was now the loudest she had ever heard it, as she jumped in surprise. She was staring at him like a deer caught in headlights. This was a side of him she had never really seen before. One she never really thought she’d ever see. “If I hadn’t gotten there when I did…” He trailed off. The tears that had been threatening to spill over earlier were now cascading down his face. He moved his hand to grip his right arm and averted his eyes.

“Yoosung?” She called as a silence spread between them.

“I don’t want to lose you and I know I’m overreacting…” He let out a soft sob, before sniffling. “But you really scared me,” He was looking at her again. The look he was sending towards her direction, caused waves of guilt to rocket down her spine. She could feel her hands begin to become clammy as her breathing picked up slightly.

“I’m sorry…”

“Sorry isn’t-!”

“I wasn’t thinking. I didn’t really do it because I didn’t want your help or something similar. I just literally didn’t think that I might end up hurting myself.” Lilly cut Yoosung off before he was able to yell at her again. “Oh and I’m sorry to you too, Castiel,” Lilly added. Castiel gave her a silent thumbs up.

Yoosung began giving her a look. He was silent as he stared at her before she suddenly felt him pull her into a hug. He buried his face into the crook of her neck, his hair brushing the side of her cheek. He smelt like her shampoo, something she wasn’t too against as she wrapped her arms around his form. She pulled him closer to her, as the two sat there like that for what felt like an eternity. Though they eventually pulled away at the sound of Yoosung’s stomach grumbling. Lilly laughed at the noise as he blushed in embarrassment before wiping away old tear streaks.

“Oh, yeah. We still need to make dinner. I got sidetracked by that bowl.” Lilly explained, putting her cold pack down on the coffee table and moving to get up.

“No, no, no, no,” Yoosung suddenly pushed her back down before shoving the pack back into her hands. “I’ll do it, you just sit here okay?”

Lilly contemplated protesting, but she had a killer headache now and she hated cooking anyways. So she ended up laying back on the couch with her hands behind her head and the cold pack resting on the bump. “Alright, if that’s what you want. Your cooking is probably better than mine anyways~”

“More like you’re a lazy, ungrateful slob.” Oh no, not that voice. Maybe she was just hearing things. Maybe the bowl hitting her head finally made her go crazy. Though judging by where Yoosung was looking right now, it probably wasn’t just all in her head. Rina suddenly looked over the edge of the couch at her, giving her an unamused look. “You know, I came rushing all the way over here after Castiel called me saying you were going to fall. He sounded really scared and I assumed the worst. I thought you were trying to do backflips on the balcony again.”

Lilly burst out laughing. She gripped her chest as her body shook with each laugh. Tears formed at the corners of her eyes and she began to snort as well. “Oh my god, I forgot about that. That was for the balcony backflip challenge I did for Metube,” She explained. “Didn’t get very many views though,” She was out of breath now, like she had just run a marathon.

“I’m glad you think your stupidity is funny,” Rina replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm and irritation. “And here you are, rudely forcing your guest, as always, to cook for you.” Rina rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms. “I would hit you over the head, but it seems you were dumb enough to do that to yourself already.”

“Oooh~ Rina, you have perfect timing then. Did you bring whats his face?!” Lilly exclaimed, shooting up to look over the couch for the chef she wanted so dearly. She completely ignored Rina scolding her, as she looked expectantly around the room.

“No, You idiot. I came here thinking there was an emergency, of course, I didn’t bring my chef.”

“U-uh, um…” Yoosung suddenly piped up.

“What?” Lilly said with mock disappointment. “Ugh, go away then.”

“What did you just say!” Rina yelled, raising her fist and shaking it angrily. Her expression becoming dark and scary.

“Gah!” Lilly exclaimed, quickly getting up and running away. Rina immediately started chasing after her while shaking her fist angrily. Lilly was ducking her head behind her arms as she tried her hardest not to get hit again for the second time in a row that day. Yoosung and Castiel watched from the sidelines, both had a look of disbelief on their faces.

 

Lilly stuffed a piece of food in her mouth before chewing happily. Her legs began to dance, swinging back and forth as she started humming. Everyone had been seated around Lilly’s dinner table. Yoosung and Castiel sat next to her while Rina sat opposite of Lilly.

“So your Jumin’s cousin?” Yoosung suddenly piped up, his curious eyes scanned Rina for any similarities they might have to one another.

“Yeah, I presume he’s never mentioned me? Since you’re asking.”

“No, which is weird. Usually, Jumin is big on talking about how great family is.” Yoosung seemed to pause and think for a second. “Maybe it’s because you’re a woman.”

“Because I’m a woman? I didn’t notice any problem with him talking to women, at least at work.” Rina said, pausing for a second to chew her next piece of food before continuing. “He seems to be really good at persuading them with things they wish to hear, actually.”

“I heard that he was gay!” Lilly suddenly exclaimed, letting out a laugh when Rina glared at her. Yoosung covered his mouth and laughed as well, but more subtly.

“I remember that rumour. Apparently, it was very troublesome for him after the media spread it everywhere without even an ounce of proof.” Rina explained, scooting her chair closer to the table.

“You don’t need any more proof than the fact that he’s a hot guy who seems like a good catch but is somehow still single.”

“Wait, is that how girls think?” Yoosung asked, a look of confusion on his face. “Also is Jumin your type or something, Lilly? Double wait, what about a guy like me then?”

“Nah, Jumin isn’t my type. I just know a lot of women like that cold, handsome, rich heir thing he has going on. It’s the whole; I’ll be the only one he loves and who breaks through his shell to see how soft and gentle he really is~ Sorta thing.” Lilly puckered her lips and fluttered her lashes while making her voice annoying and high pitched. She then let out a laugh after she was done. “They also want his money, cause money equals happiness.”

“I don’t think money equals happiness. When I get a girlfriend, just seeing her happy will make me happy enough.” Yoosung replied.

“Aww~ how cute~” Lilly fake gushed, causing Yoosung to become embarrassed.

“I agree with Lilly’s last statement. I believe that most women who approach him are doing so for his wealth; so nothing has interested him romantically yet.” Rina took a sip of her drink before continuing, “Also Yoosung, I don’t see anything wrong you per-se. But Your hooded sweater is tacky and you do seem a bit childlike.”

“What?!”

“Heh heh, aww~” Lilly grabbed him and brought his head closer, before ruffling his hair playfully. “I like Yoosung just the way he is.”

“L-Lilly!?” Yoosung sputtered, a blush spreading across his features. Though he didn’t make any move to remove himself from her grip.

“I like you, Yoosung,” Castiel commented, smiling softly.

“See, Yoosung? Castiel likes you and that’s like God’s word.” Lilly joked as she released Yoosung back into the position he was in before.

“Thanks, Castiel,” He replied shyly, as they all went back to finishing their meals.

Lilly chatted with them for the next few hours. The four of them made small talk and even had some dessert. Though it became later and later into the night and Lilly decided it was time to tuck Castiel into bed. She bid both Yoosung and Rina a farewell, as Rina offered to drive Yoosung home. Lilly was relieved she didn’t have to worry about him going home by himself at night. Even though he was a full grown man, she still wasn’t comfortable with it. Honestly, she didn’t care how old Castiel got either. She was still going to worry about it.

 

Lilly sighed as she plopped herself down into bed. The lights had been turned off and the curtains were drawn once more keeping any light from coming in. She turned on her side and moved to grab her phone from her nightstand; which had been moved there by Yoosung, from the kitchen. She then scrolled through her notifications as the screen lit up the room. She let out a laugh at the number of worried texts she got from Zen. She completely forgot to tell him she was okay after the whole ordeal with dropping a bowl on her head.

She tapped on his number through her contacts, bringing up a call. She brought the phone to her ear, letting it ring a few times before she was sent to voicemail. Huh, he must be asleep or busy, she thought. She left him a message that she was okay, explained the situation and then ended the call. After that was done, she then went to put her phone away when it suddenly went off with a text notification. She glanced at the number as it appeared on her screen. It was an unknown number. She opened it anyway, thinking it might be someone she knew.

“I welcome you to paradise.”

Lilly stared at the message confused. What was that supposed to mean? Must be a wrong number. “Wrong number,” Was her response as she went to delete the thread.

“I can’t wait to see you again. I know you’ll be happy here~” She was then sent a strange image of what looked to be a poster. It had a large eye in the middle with the words “Mint Eye” inscribed above it. For some reason, it sent chills down her spine. She immediately went and blocked the number. Sighing in relief after the job was done before exiting out of her texts and back onto the home screen.

“What…” Her body began to feel a rush of hot and cold as nausea settled in her stomach. She could feel a layer of sweat begin to form on her skin and her breathing began to increase rapidly. Her background had been changed from a picture of Castiel to the picture of the eye in the poster. She definitely had not done that, at least she didn’t remember doing that. On top of all that there was an app, she didn’t recognize, labelled “RFA Messenger”.

“I think I need to wipe my phone.” She whispered to no one in particular as she shut it off and put it away before turning over in bed. However, she couldn’t get the image of the poster out of her mind as her sleep became restless and riddled with anxiety.


	6. Stay Safe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lilly stumbles into a chatroom and her anxieties show.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I felt like the pacing is a bit fast, I'm honestly not satisfied with everything but I'm not sure how to correct it. Please feel free to leave some helpful criticism, I would greatly appreciate it (Try not to be too rude, I want to improve). Also if any of the characters are too OOC, please feel free to inform of that too. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy!

Lilly stuffed her spoon in a bowl of cereal. She was swirling the small, colourful, sugar-filled pieces around in the milk which filled about half of the bowl. She wasn't really intent on eating it, however. She instead opted to stare at it with tired eyes as it progressively got soggier. She let go of her spoon with a clack before sighing irritably at her lack of appetite. Her eyes drifted over to the windows surrounding her dining room. It was still dark out, the sun just barely peeking out enough to remind her it wasn't the middle of the night anymore. There was a flurry of snow coming down since the temperature had dropped while she had been struggling to sleep.

Her attention was brought back to her 'meal’ before she got up and dumped it into the toilet. At least she tried, she reasoned with herself as she rinsed the bowl off in the sink. She placed it in her dishwasher before going to gather her stuff to head to school and study. She paused when she went to reach for her phone and began to stare at it as if it were a bomb that would go off the moment her fingers made contact. Though she willed herself to pick it up anyways, turning it back on.

She watched as her phone loaded. The company name popped up above the loading screen for about a minute before redirecting her to the lock screen. The background was still set to the creepy eye from the poster she was sent last night. It sent a shiver down her spine as a notification popped up telling her a new chat room had opened. At first, she was confused but soon she realized, it was from the strange app that also appeared along with her new background.

She was hesitant to open it at first but her curiosity got the better of her as she opened the app, anyway.  She was met with a new user screen, prompting her to type in a username and pick out a profile picture. She typed in “Lilly♥” and set her profile picture to one Castiel took a while back. It was of her eating a hotdog in a nearby park with a beautiful sunset in the background. The orange and red hues covered half her body, while shadows covered the rest. She hit next as she entered what she presumed was the chat room that had just opened.

“Lilly♥ has entered the chatroom”

 **Jaehee:** Yes that’s correct.

 **Jaehee:** You have a meeting scheduled early this morning with the Cultured Citizens Organisation.

 **Jumin:** Alright, can you fit my trip to the winery in this afternoon?

 **Jaehee:** Of course.

 **Zen:** Gosh, making your employees work even this early in the morning.  
**Zen:** What a jerk.

 **Jaehee:** Please tell me you’re leaving Elizabeth at home for now until you return?

 **Jumin:** Of course not, though I’ll be taking her with me.

 **Zen:** Don’t ignore me!

 **707:** I can take care of Elly for you~ ^_^

 **Jumin:** No.

 **707:** Aww~ why not?  
**707:** My love for Elly is stronger than my love for god.

 **Jumin:** No.  
  
**707:** I have even Elly proofed my most prized possession.  
**707:** My giant tower of Ph.D. Pepper cans I stacked last night.

 **Jaehee:** So your garbage?

 **707:** No, my most prized possession~

**Jaehee:**

**Jumin:** No and do not refer to her as anything but her name.

 **707:** Aww, pwease~

 **Zen:** Dude, stop.  
**Zen:** You’re starting to make me cringe.

 **Jaehee:** Oh right, Zen,  
**Jaehee:** I meant to ask what you’re doing up so early.

 **Zen:** I have an early morning meeting with the director today.  
**Zen:** I need to get up early enough to get ready.  
**Zen:** Since I’m meeting up with important people who might discuss a future role.  
**Zen:** I need to look my best~

 **Jaehee:** Oh, well, I hope you get a leading role very soon.  
**Jaehee:** I can not wait to witness you up on stage again in all your handsome glory.  
**Jaehee:**

 **Zen:** Thanks Jaehee, though I’m always gloriously handsome, unfortunately.

 **Jaehee:** A burden you must always live with.  
**Jaehee:** But one I admire nonetheless.

**Jaehee:**

**Jumin:** This chat is getting tiring, I’m leaving.

 **Zen:** But it’s the truth.

 **Jaehee:** I agree.

 **707:** lololol  
**707:** Is Jumin jealous?

 **Zen:** I don’t think he’s jealous.  
**Zen:** Though I could understand if he is~

 **707:** lolol  
  
**Jumin:**

 **Yoosung★** : wshadgsfdhgsdfhgfsahgf

 **Zen:** uh, what?

 **Jaehee:** I didn’t even notice Yoosung was online.  
**Jaehee:** Yoosung, what are you doing up this early?

 **Yoosung★:** Lilly! Why are you here?!

 **Jaehee:**???  
  
**Zen:** Is Lilly at your place? Why would you type that?

 **Jaehee:** Isn’t Lilly that friend you two spoke of one time in a past chat room?

 **Zen:** That reminds me, she left me a message last night.  
**Zen:** I totally forgot to respond, she was so cute though.

 **Jaehee:** Hopefully you’re not getting involved in any scandals, Zen.  
**Jaehee:** You know what that could do to your career as a person who works in the view of the public.

 **Zen:** I know, but I feel it would be different with the one I love.  
**Zen:** I really want to start dating again.  
**Zen:** I haven’t had a girlfriend in years.  
  
**Yoosung★:** Can we not talk about dating Lilly when she’s in the chatroom!  
  
**Zen:** Wait, what? Lilly isn’t an RFA member, how is she in the chatroom? And I wasn’t talking about dating her!

 **707:** !!!  
**707:** There’s an intruder!  
**707:** Someone with the username, Lilly♥

 **Lilly♥:** Zen, I’m hurt.  
**Lilly♥:** After 4 years of marriage, I thought I meant more to you than this.

 **Zen:** What?!  
  
**Lilly♥:** I came here because I had a feeling you were being unfaithful to me.  
**Lilly♥:** I see I was right to doubt you.  
**Lilly♥:** I guess our love was never truly real, I’m crying, I really am.

 **Yoosung★:** Lilly, stop joking around, this is serious. You’re not supposed to be in here...

**Yoosung★:**

**Zen:** I didn’t know such a cutie was married to me. 

 **Lilly♥:** How did you not know? It has been 4 long years!

 **Zen:** Please forgive me, my love, let me make it up to you.  
  
**Lilly♥:** How?

 **Zen:** How about lunch, tomorrow afternoon  
  
**Lilly♥:** Yes! I forgive you~

 **Jaehee:** No, absolutely not.

 **Yoosung★:** Seconded.

 **Lilly♥:** Jaehee and Yoosung, you’ll never get between us! Our love is real!  
  
**Jaehee:** So real that Zen just found out about it.

 **707:** Sounds real to me~

 **Lilly♥:** Shhh~ That’s a minor detail.

 **Jaehee:** Ugh, anyways, Lilly, how did you get this app? The information enclosed in these chatrooms are purely confidential and to only be disclosed among the RFA members.

 **Lilly♥:** I’m Seven’s assistant, didn’t he tell you guys?

 **Yoosung★:** I thought you were Zen’s wife? -_-

 **Lilly♥:** I’m that too.

 **707:** lolololol

 **707:** I told you to call me if you had any questions.

 **Jaehee:** Seven, why aren’t you doing anything?! Isn’t this a major security breach!

**Jaehee:**

**Lilly♥:** I was going to, but there’s an emergency!

 **Jaehee:** Emergency? 

 **707:** What is it, assistant Lilly?!

 **Lilly♥:** You left a can of Ph.D. Pepper at the office and now your tower will never be complete.

 **707:** No! This is the worst day of my life!!!  
**707:** I obviously didn’t pray enough...  
**707:** Now I’m being punished for my sins  
**Jaehee:** Are you two, serious right now!?  

**Lilly♥:** No, not all.  
**Lilly♥:** I thought that was obvious.

 **Jumin:** I’m going to contact V.

 **Jaehee:** Please do. -_-

 **Lilly♥:** Lol, this is fun, definitely a change from my usual morning routine.

Lilly had a large smile on her face; her original objective to head to school had all been but discarded at this point. She was now laying on her back in bed with her phone just above her head. The light from the screen lit up the dark room as she waited for this V person to get into chat. She remembered Yoosung had complained about him so she wasn’t sure what to make of the situation or whether or not to trust him. Not that she was wholeheartedly trusting everyone else.

“V has entered the chatroom”

 **Jumin:** V, you made it.

 **Lilly♥:** That was fast~

 **Zen:** V!

 **V:** What’s going on?  
**V:** Oh and hello, Hyun and everybody else.

 **Jumin:** Right, I didn’t really have time to brief you on the situation in the call.  
**Jumin:** But as you can see, a person who is not a member of the RFA has gained access to the messenger app. Which as I’m sure you’re aware, isn’t accessible to the public.  

 **V:** Lilly, is it? How did you gain access to the app? We’ll need all the information we can get to help solve this.

 **Jaehee:** Don’t bother asking her, V, she’s uncooperative.

 **V:** Luciel, have you found anything regarding this situation?

 **707:** I traced Lilly’s IP to an apartment complex not too far from where Zen lives. Quite fancy, actually~

 **Yoosung★:** I already know where Lilly lives, I was there yesterday.

 **V:** You’re friends with Lilly?

 **Zen:** Both me and Yoosung already know Lilly. Didn’t you read the past chat rooms, V?

 **V:** No, sorry. I was busy.

 **Jaehee:** Lilly is quite a strange name, actually; I can somewhat understand Seven’s name. But Lilly makes me feel uneasy and suspicious. It sounds fake.

 **Lilly♥:** It’s my codename since I’m a super secret agent

 **707:** Ooooh, fancy~ lololol  
**707:** This is exciting! My hands are practically shaking with joy as I type~  
**707:** I found your Metube channel, Lilly. You have an adorable singing voice~  
**707:**

 **Yoosung★:** What? I wanna see!

 **Jaehee:** I don’t think that’s important information.

 **Zen:** I want to see too!

 **Jaehee:** Zen, not you too.

 **V:** Luciel, do you know what could’ve caused this?

 **707:** Hmm, no not yet. I’ve been looking through the code and I haven’t noticed any changes. I’ll have to keep searching.

 **V:** Please tell me if you find anything.

 **707:** Alrighty, boss!  
**707:** What should I do about Lilly? Deny her access? ^_^

 **Lilly♥:** Don’t say that with such a cruel smile. T_T  
**Lilly♥:** I’m good, I swear~  
**Lilly♥:** Besides, this app has an option called guest information. Would be a shame if I released it to the public!

 **Yoosung★:** I thought you said you were good. -_-

 **Lilly♥:** When I want to be.

 **V:** Guest information? Luciel, doesn’t that mean she has Rika’s version of the app?

 **707:** Looks like it, since only Rika could access those things.

 **Lilly♥:** There are different versions?

 **V:** Hmm, this makes things complicated.  
**V:** Lilly, please do not do anything rash. That guest information is extremely confidential and contains a lot of important information regarding guests who’ve attended RFA parties in the past.

 **Lilly♥:** Lol, I won’t.

 **Jumin:** You don’t sound very serious.  
**Jumin:** I suggest you take this more seriously, Lilly.

 **Jaehee:** I agree.

 **V:** For now I want Lilly to become an official RFA member.

 **Jaehee:**!!!  
**Jaehee:** V, I respect your opinion, but is that really a good idea?

 **Zen:** Lilly isn’t a bad person, Jaehee. I think it will be alright.

 **Jaehee:** How do you know that for sure? You just met her and she hasn’t said a single thing so far, to not make me suspicious of her.  
**Jaehee:** In fact, she has been treating this like a joke.

 **V:** I’ll have Luciel do a background check on her, just to be safe.

 **Lilly♥:** What? I do not consent!

Lilly could suddenly feel herself begin to shake, her smile was wiped from her face. She really didn’t want anyone to know about her past, much less someone she didn’t know. An anxious kind of nausea settled in her stomach, similar to the one she felt last night. She took in a deep breath to try to calm herself down. He probably wouldn’t get that deep, he was most likely just making sure she wasn’t a criminal or something. Right? Right?! God damn it, she didn’t know.

 **707:** 10-4, can do!

 **V:** I have to go now, there is something I have to attend to.  
**V:** Luciel, I’ll discuss details with you on the phone.  
**V:** My signal isn’t very good, so I’m sorry I have to leave so soon especially after making such an important decision. I’ll discuss my reasonings with all of you, later.

 **Yoosung★:** V, you haven’t been here all week!  
**Yoosung★:** And now you’re just going to leave, even when something like this happens?

 **V:** Yoosung…  
**V:** I’m sorry. I’ll try to be on later tonight to discuss things with you, Lilly.

“V has left the chatroom”  
  
**Yoosung★:** Don’t just say you’re sorry!  
**Yoosung★:** He left…

 **Jumin:** Strange, I’ve never seen V come and leave so suddenly.  
**Jumin:** I hope he’s doing okay.  
**Jumin:** His decision to make Lilly an RFA member seemed rather sudden.  

 **Yoosung★:** He’s obviously hiding something!

 **Jaehee:** Yoosung, this isn’t the time. Especially not with a stranger in the chatroom.

 **Yoosung★:** What do you mean this isn’t the time?!  
**Yoosung★:** Ever since Rika passed away we never see him and now he’s just ignoring the RFA completely and leaving any and all problems to Seven. When is the last time we even had a party?!

 **Jaehee:** Yoosung, that’s enough.

 **Zen:** Yeah, I agree with Jaehee. I think you should go and calm down, Yoosung.

 **Yoosung★:** Enough? None of this is enough and I don’t feel like any of you even care!  
**Yoosung★:** I miss Rika…  
**Yoosung★:** I miss her so badly…

 **Jumin:** Well I highly doubt Rika would want you acting out this way. Especially in front of a stranger.

 **Yoosung★:** She’s not a stranger!

“Yoosung★ has left the chatroom”

 **707:** lolol  
**707:** Yoosung is so cute when he’s upset~

 **Jaehee:** I don’t believe that is an appropriate comment to make right now.

 **Zen:** Lilly, sorry you had to see that.

Lilly moved her hands to the keyboard of her phone to begin typing her response when the app suddenly closed. Her usual ringtone began blaring through the once silent room, as a cute picture of Yoosung sticking his tongue out popped up with his full name underneath. She accepted the call before bringing it to her ear.

“Hello?” She got no response at first, only hearing soft sniffles. She heard him shuffle the phone around and whisper something inaudible to himself. For some reason, she got the feeling he was struggling with the idea of hanging up. She felt a frown make its way to her lips and worry wrap itself around her mind and thoughts. “Yoosung? Are you okay?” He hiccuped, causing her to smile slightly. It was the cutest sound she had ever heard.

“You're coming to school today?” He completely ignored her question, his voice shaky.

“Yeah I was supposed to go a while ago but I got distracted.” She let out a forced laugh to hopefully brighten the mood. “I can meet you there.”

“No!”

“No?”

“I'll meet you at your place and w-we can go together,” he sputtered.

“Okay, I can't wait to see you. I missed you~” Lilly teased, chuckling almost mischievously. She could practically feel Yoosung's blush through the phone.

He began stuttering incoherently, trying to form words but none coming out. “I missed you too!” He suddenly exclaimed, way louder than necessary.

“Alright, see you soon,” Lilly replied before Yoosung quickly said his goodbye and hung up.

The RFA messenger app came back up, but she didn’t bother to read anything else as she exited the app completely. She didn’t really care to continue whatever conversation they were having about her. None of them seemed very trusting, not that she blamed them. Though V’s random decision to make her a member seemed kind of silly in her mind. Yeah, she was familiar with two of the members already; but that could all simply be part of her plan to seem more friendly then she is and infiltrate their ‘very secret app’. Either way, the RFA didn’t interest her in the slightest. Apparently, they weren’t holding any fundraisers anyways, from what she gathered from Yoosung. Why were they even still a thing then?

She was tempted to simply delete the app and be done with it. Though she felt it wasn’t that easy, especially since she apparently had, had access to very confidential information. Hopefully that Seven guy wasn’t dangerous and wouldn’t come after her if she didn’t come back later tonight like V had requested. The sudden thought of one of them potentially harming Castiel came to mind, and she grit her teeth together. Her hands began to shake on their own out of anger and she turned to look towards her bedroom door. What if she was putting him in danger because of this? She wouldn’t be able to live with herself if something happened to him. She could feel fear shoot through her veins and straight to the tips of her fingers making them tingle. Her palms started to slowly become sweaty, causing her to feel hot and cold flashes run from them through the rest of her body. She glanced around the room warily as if someone would jump out at any moment to grab her and drag her away.

She took a deep breath to calm herself down before releasing it slowly. She would just have to be around him more often and keep an eye on him at all times. Maybe she should implement some kind of security at her apartment? Like a door that only opens if you say a certain password in another language. No, that’s stupid. What is this, a spy movie?

She was abruptly cut off from her myriads of thoughts when the door to her room suddenly creaked open. Castiel’s chubby face peaked in, his hair tousled from sleep and his eyes tired. “Yoosung is here, should I let him in?” Castiel yawned. Shoot how long had she been sitting there thinking? She quickly got up and stuffed her phone into her pocket before grabbing her bag and flinging it over her shoulder.

“No, I’ll meet him down there. When are you going to school? I’ll walk you there.” Castiel gave her a look of confusion before his eyes wandered down to her hands and widened slightly.

"Big sis, your hands," he whispered, walking over to inspect it. She glanced down towards it, confused at first, before dumbly staring at the blood that slowly trickled down from the sides of all five of her fingers, on both hands. Shit, she must have been chewing on them through her worrying. "I'll go get some bandages!” Castiel exclaimed rushing off to go get the first aid kit. She sighed irritatedly, great now she was wasting time.

While Castiel was doing that, Lilly then grabbed the things she had packed for him today and stuffed it into his bag. He came back just as she was zipping it up.  
She ended up sitting down on the nearest dining room chair while Castiel dressed her fingers in bandages. It was funny that he wouldn’t just let her do this on her own.

Her eyes followed his small hands as they wrapped hers in bandages. She felt a smile makes its way to her face at his extremely concentrated expression. This felt so nice, being with her brother; even if it was because of her own stupidity. Every second with him was precious and the thought of anyone harming him made her even more uneasy.

“Castiel, don’t ever get into a strangers car,” she suddenly blurted out. 

“I know, you tell me stuff like that all the time.”

“Just don’t do anything I would do, expect your homework, do that.”

“Big sis, don’t do anything dumb either.”

“I never do dumb things. I just don’t want you doing the stuff I do.”

“Why?” He asked, stopping his ministrations for a few seconds to give Lilly an unamused look.

“Because they’re dumb,” she let out a laugh when he puffed out his cheeks and his expression changed to that of mock anger.

“There, done,” he whispered, looking over his work proudly. She looked down at her hands; they looked like the start of a Halloween mummy costume. Great now Yoosung was going to think she got mauled by a rabid dog. She suddenly felt two, small warm arms encircle her as Castiel buried his face in her chest. “I love you,” he whispered. For some reason, she almost started crying.

“I-I love you too, bud.”

Realizing Yoosung was very much still waiting for her, she made Castiel a quick breakfast. She also made sure he ate and put on enough winter wear to hike through Antarctica and still stay warm; before walking out of the apartment complex to meet up with Yoosung.

She held Castiel’s hand protectively the entire way through the building. Even as they walked to his school, she kept glancing over her shoulders. She knew she was embarrassing him, but she didn’t care. She just wanted to keep him safe. Maybe she should put a tracking device on him? No, he’s not a dog. What is she thinking? Though she could feel her anxiety welling up in her chest, it was getting close to a breaking point. She felt the urge to get down on her knees and cry her heart out. Though there was no way in hell she would do that. At least not in front of Castiel. She was supposed to be strong. What would he think if she just started crying for seemingly no reason? What would Yoosung think? Probably nothing good. She swallowed her anxiety and fear, almost not letting go of Castiel’s hand as he waved goodbye and entered the school building. She bit her lip, holding in the sob she almost let out.


	7. Nothing's Wrong With Us

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lilly meets up with Yoosung before school, she gets a call from Seven, meets up with a familiar face on a train and has a serious talk with her brother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, after months of waiting, I worked up the motivation to write a new chapter! Yay! Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it. A big thanks to my friend Lokiiwood (undersans) for beta reading this chapter for me, you're the best~ Anyways, as always please leave your thoughts in the comment section below, I love to hear them (don't be too rude, I'm trying to improve.) If you're not good with words a kudos works too, anyways without further ado, please enjoy this chapter~

“I didn’t expect to see you this early in the morning,” Lilly said, her breath coming out in short white puffs. “It’s annoying that it had to snow though. Just when it was melting too.” Yoosung didn’t reply, instead opting to cast his gaze at the ground. He was obviously thinking about something and it was making their walk to the bus stop awkward. “I got some Honey Buddha Chips~,” she said in a sing-song voice. She pulled out a bag from her hoodie’s pocket, frowning when she received no response. “I’m gonna eat them~” She sighed, putting them away. “What’s wrong?”  
  
“I shouldn’t have said what I did in the chat with you there,” he finally replied. “They were right. I was just angry and upset, and I…” Lilly placed a hand on his shoulder. His breath hitched as she gave him a bright smile.  
  
“It’s not a big deal, okay? You can tell me anything, I’ll listen. Clearly the RFA or whatever is important to you and there’s nothing wrong with that.”  
  
He glanced over at her, “I guess not. It’s just aggravating how everyone always talks down to me and leaves me in the dark.” He grit his teeth, turning his head away slightly.

“Forget about that,” she said, slinging her arm around him and pulling him flush against her side. “I’m an RFA member now, so I can totally improve it. Maybe I’ll uncover those secrets,” she reassured in a goofy voice causing him to let out a chuckle. Their feet crunched against the soft snow that had just fallen as they walked. The wind stinging their cheeks but neither of them seemed to care.

“I almost forgot you’re one now. Feels so weird. How’d you even get the app?”  
  
“I don’t know, I think it’s a virus. I got a weird text from somebody and then all of a sudden I had the app. I’ll probably wipe my phone,” Lilly explained. For some reason, it felt easier explaining it to Yoosung than it did in the chat room.

“What? A weird text, that’s creepy!”

“I blocked the number so hopefully I don’t get any more.” Yoosung was giving her a look now, his eyes were filled with worry.  
  
“I-I should let Seven know. But what if they come for you?” He asked, his voice slightly shaky.  
  
“Please, have you seen me? They’ll take one look and they’ll know what they’re dealing with.” Yoosung’s gaze trailed over her form before he opened his mouth to speak.  
  
“A midget?” Lilly started choking on her own spit as Yoosung laughed at her. She was glad he was happy again but he shouldn’t be happy at her expense!  
  
“Hey!” She exclaimed. Looking around she realized the snow was the perfect kind to make a snowman with. But also perfect for getting back at Yoosung. Moving to scoop up a snowball, she laughed when she watched the realization dawn on his face on what she was about to do next. He then quickly ran to hide behind a lamppost to make his own. They were both now laughing like children as they tossed balls of snow at each other.  
  
Lilly ducked and dodged out of the way of two incoming projectiles as she launched her own. “You suck at this, Yoosung!” She exclaimed as she hit him in the shoulder once more. The snow hit him with a splat. Chunks of the frozen water bounced off his jacket and ran down it onto his pants.  
  
“Not for long!” He replied as Lilly was hit square in the face with one.  
  
“Gah!” she exclaimed, as she wiped it off before shaking her head about like a wet dog. Yoosung walked up to her, a smile on his face just as she did that. Telling her to stop in a playful voice as he was hit with the runaway water droplets that had melted from the heat of her skin. She responded by continuing to do it.  
  
‘Brrrrr…’ both of their heads snapped to the direction of the familiar sound. The bus they were supposed to take suddenly whizzing by. They both gave each other a knowing look before chasing after it. Their hearts raced and their breaths came out in visible streams of white. Neither cared that it was getting hard to breath as they approached the bus stop. Halting next to the sign with their bus number plastered at the top, they began to pant. Almost tripping and falling on the slippery snow a few times. They let out a sigh when they made it just before their ride. Leaning on each other to prevent themselves from toppling over from the exhaustion of going from standing around to sprinting at full speed.

“Lilly, you distracted me~” Yoosung mock whined, as the large vehicle’s front doors opened for them. Passengers getting off at the back as they stepped on.

“No, you distracted me,” Lilly rebutted; as she tapped her bus pass on a scanner, which lit up a bright green to tell her and the bus driver she was good to go. Yoosung did the same thing before they collapsed on the nearest available seats. “Ugh…” she whined, suddenly laying her head on Yoosung’s lap. He flinched, eyes going wide and a blush staining his cheeks in response to her actions. “Can we have class together all day, instead? You’re so much fun,” She said, looking up at him. She blinked in confusion when she realized he was looking at her like she had just performed fifty backflips in a row. Which she could do, but that’s besides the point. “What?”  
  
“Don’t just- why are you-? Lilly!” He sputtered as the rosiness staining his features seemed to spread even further. Hmmm? Oh, this was making him uncomfortable. She smirked mischievously, getting herself comfortable. Instead of getting up, she closed her eyes before crossing her arms behind her head to use as a headrest.  
  
“You’re awfully comfy, Yoosung~ Maybe I’ll just lay here all day,” she teased.

“Y-No-No!”  
  
“Hmm? Were you about to say yes?” She questioned, opening one of her eyes to look at him. She almost let out a laugh the moment she noticed the clear panic on his face when she pointed that out. “Well, if you insist~”

“L-Lilly, please…” he begged, his eyes darting about the bus as other passengers gave them weird looks.

“Please what? Please stay here longer?” She taunted, letting out a breathy chuckle. She gave him a look as she remembered something. “Actually Yoosung, I've been thinking about stuff and I've been meaning to ask you something. Valentine's day is coming up and I thought…” she trailed off, opening her eyes fully again as she grew nervous. “I thought…” she focused her gaze on his face realizing he had an extremely focused expression like he was listening intently to her every word. His nervousness completely disappearing. “Nevermind,” she laughed sitting up.

“What? No, tell me!” He pleaded as she turned her head away from him. She could hear the disappointment in his voice at her sudden drop of the topic she brought up, to begin with.

She blushed slightly, trying to cover her face with her hair to hide it. “I've been thinking…” god just say it. “We could go to that dance thing you mentioned. You know, as friends and stuff. You're really fun to be around so I thought like, maybe we could do stuff like that together…” she began to ramble as she grew more nervous. Almost wanting to block out his response with her own words.

“Lilly...Lilly!” He finally yelled, cutting off her incoherent mumbling. His large violet eyes met her own. “I want to-to go with you too,” he stuttered. Her heart skipped a beat as she could feel a sort of relief envelope her body. Was she seriously scared of being rejected? Ugh, what's wrong with her. Though despite questioning herself, she couldn't help the smile that graced her lips.

“So what kind of chocolate do you like?” She asked as the overhead speakers suddenly went off, telling everybody on board it was the last stop. They both got up as the bus screeched to a halt, stepping out of the vehicle. “Eh, whatever,” she started as they walked. “I'll just stuff some Honey Buddha Chips in one and call it a day,” she joked.

“Okay!” Was Yoosung's quick and enthusiastic reply. She gave him a look.

“You were supposed to say, ew gross you weirdo,” she corrected.

“Aww, but I like Honey Buddha Chips,” he drawled as they stepped through the main entrance of the university. “But um, I'm really happy you want to go to the dance with me. But chocolates too? I almost feel spoiled~” he let out a soft laugh. The sound practically made Lilly's heart stop. What was wrong with her? Why was she feeling this way around him? She was probably just getting sick.

“Heh, yeah. This would be the first Valentine's day I don't spend with Castiel.”

“You spend every Valentine's day with your little brother?”

“Well, yeah. He's my little brother. If no one else then I'd definitely spend it with him,” she explained. Lilly felt his fingers ghost her hand as she spoke. In a knee-jerk reaction, she ripped it away like she had been burned. She almost instantly regretted it when she saw the frown on Yoosung's lips at her response to his advances. Though he didn't try again. In fact, he backed away from her. She could feel nausea well up in her stomach as her gaze settled anywhere but his face. “Well, I'll see you around lunch, okay? I have to get to class,” she said before laughing awkwardly. Yoosung nodded saying a quick and forced enthusiastic yeah before she turned and made her way down a separate hall from him. She didn't actually have class, she just felt the need to get out of there before she made things worse.

 

Lilly peeled off the bandages her brother had wrapped her hands in. Luckily Yoosung didn't notice or comment on them. Maybe he was distracted? Or maybe she was distracted and ignored his question? She didn't know, she thought as she tossed them in the nearest trash bin. Whatever. Her eyes focused on the ripped up skin around her nails, sighing audibly. How did she even do this? Her mind drew a blank as if the memory was permanently deleted from her brain.

Her gaze flicked towards her phone as the ringtone suddenly went off. She began to panic as people around her gave her an annoyed look for making noise when they came here for peace and quiet. She instantly apologized before picking it up and stepping out of the study room to answer it.

“Hello?” Shoot, she should've checked the number before answering.

“Hello, I have called to inform you that your bank account has been breached. Please send me your full name, phone number, address and card number so I can fix this issue for you.” Said someone poorly imitating a robotic voice.

“You have my phone number, how else would you be able to call me?”

“Right, silly me, I meant SIM number!” Lilly pulled the phone from her face for a second to check the number. It was that Seven guy. Why was he already added to her contacts and why call her?

“Oh, of course!” She exclaimed as she put the phone back to her ear. “It's seven zero seven, go away, I'm hanging up. You got that down?” She teased as she heard him shuffle about almost in excitement on the other end. What a weirdo, but for some reason she caught herself smiling.

“What, no, no! I mean, miss, that number did not turn up with any results. Please tell me again~” he wasn't even trying to do the stupid robot voice anymore. Huh, his voice sounded familiar for some reason. She must be imagining things.

“I forgot, why don't you tell me yours? Maybe it will jog my memory~” she couldn't help but laugh when he started laughing. Was he just a ball of energy and giggles? Yeesh.

“I just called to tell you that you should never give out your information to strangers. Always avoid phishing scams!”

“That’s so random. Well, if we're giving each other advice then, hmmm...” she paused as she tried to think of something. “Turning your underwear inside out is not the same as washing.”

“Whaaaaaat?! It's not?!” She busted her gut laughing with him following suit. Usually, she'd get a weird look for a joke like that or a comment filled with disgust. But he didn't do that. Well not that he could give her a look through the phone but whatever. “You're so funny, Lilly. I knew you'd be fun because of how you spoke in the chat room. But now I know for sure~”

“Glad I could meet your expectations. But wait, Seven, we need to move onto a more important topic,” Lilly started. She giggled when she heard him gasp before asking, 'what?’. “How's your soda can tower going? I need to hear all the details.”

“I tripped and knocked it over and then my maid, Mary, threw it all out!”

“What no! Don't worry, Seven, I'll save you. I still have that one can from the office. It's small but I think it's a good start!”

“Oh yes, Assistant Lilly, I knew I could count on you~” The smile plastered on Lilly's face was aching by this point and people walking by gave her a look like she was crazy but she didn't care. Maybe he wasn't so bad after all.

“So I heard something from Yoosung recently. That you look really good in a maid outfit.” She paused as he began to sputter and cough like he was choking on his own spit. “I'll only go back into the RFA chat room if and I mean _if_ I get at least, five pictures of you in it.”

“Are you blackmailing me?” He replied in a playful voice. “I didn't know Yoosung thought I looked so good in that photo. I knew he was just hiding his true feelings~”

“But I won't, because I'm about to admit them; My heart skips a beat every time I think of you dressed like a woman.”

“Gah! Lilly, you're killing me, stop, I can't take this!” Though despite saying that he didn't hang up. In fact, he sounded ecstatic by this point.

“Mission accomplished, Agent Seven Zero Seven has been defeated.” He began coughing, he was laughing so hard. He must really be enjoying himself.

“Ah! My stomach hurts-” he gasped for air, “Lilly, please save me!”

“Anyways, as fun as this conversation is, I need to get back to studying. I have a test coming up. Don't worry, I'll be on the RFA chat room tonight. I mean how can I ignore someone as good looking as you?” She winked despite the fact that he couldn't see it.

“Good-looking? Me?” He sounded somewhat flustered as he tried to catch his breath.

“I'm just kidding, I don't even know what you look like. But you better watch your back, I'm kinda dangerous...I know how to do fifty backflips on the edge of a balcony!”

“I know, I saw your video. I liked it when you sang more though, please don't do backflips like that again. I mean unless I'm there.”

“Hmmmm, Nah. It's way more fun to get a surprise broken arm!” She blinked as she realized she was getting hooked into another long conversation. She needed to end this before she was standing here all day. “Um, I gotta go now. Stop distracting me! Now then, peace out!” She hung up before he had a chance to reply. She sighed before walking back into the study room. She definitely felt more energized now.

The moment she sat down she realized that most of the students that had originally been in here had left. Now she was alone. The sound of the clock the only thing making a noise in the room. How long had she stood around chatting?

She then realized her throat felt scratchy like she had been yelling at the top of her lungs for a good ten minutes. She moved her hand up to run her digits across it. Wincing at the slight pain. How could she get so distracted during a conversation that she didn’t notice this or the time?

Her stomach growled loudly as she glanced at the time on her laptop’s monitor. Oh no, it was past lunch. She told Yoosung she would meet up with him! She began to panic as she quickly took out her phone to call him. Placing it against her ear; she tapped nervously on the desk in front of her as each ring without an answer made her heart drop even lower in her chest.

When his automated message went off, her panic went through the roof. He shouldn’t have a class yet. She had memorized his schedule. Which meant he was ignoring her. She also made it awkward with him this morning. Maybe he thought she hated him now that she didn’t meet up with him when she had told him she was going to. Maybe he thought she stood him up.

She could feel tears brim her eyes as she sent him worried text after worried text. Apology, after apology. When she got no response, she slammed her face into her hands after chucking her phone on the nearest desk. Like it was the source of all her problems. She let the tears fall, she was being ridiculous, this was such an overreaction. Why did the thought of Yoosung hating her or leaving her, make her feel so worthless? She just met him and yet…

“Lilly? Lilly, what’s wrong?” Her heart practically stopped as two bags of food from what looked to be a fast food restaurant were plopped down next to her. Her hands were then moved as her gaze focused on Yoosung’s form. He was giving her a worried look, his bright amethyst eyes staring into her own.  
  
“N-nothing…” She whispered as Yoosung’s phone suddenly went off. He quickly checked it, blinking in confusion before realization dawned on his features.  
  
“I’m not upset with you, I figured you just forgot or something. So I got you some lunch too.” His lips quirked into a smile as Lilly’s cheeks turned a bright red. “Is that why you were crying~?”  
  
“N-no! I was just-I was just-” she blinked, trying to think up some kind of excuse. But nothing came to her jumbled mind. “Nothing!” She exclaimed.

“Nothing? That's a pretty bad excuse,” he teased.

“My stomach was really hurting me, that's all, okay? It wasn't you!”

His expression grew concerned, as he leaned in closer to her. “Your stomach hurts? Are you sure...It wasn't this!” He laughed along with her as he jabbed her in her side playfully.

“Gah, no, please, I'm sensitive!” Someone stepped in at the moment only to step back out upon hearing what was going on. They both turned towards it, only to laugh harder. A blush staining Yoosung's cheeks as well.

“I'm-I'm glad you're feeling better,” Yoosung said. He reached forward to wipe some of the tears still resting around the edges of Lilly's eyes. Lilly stared up at him, her mouth becoming slightly agape as if she wanted to say something. Though nothing came out. “You don't have to worry about me hating you…” he paused, “especially when you give me free Honey Buddha Chips!”

Lilly chuckled in response, “Yeah well, now you're not getting any. Clearly, you only like me because of those chips you're obsessed with,” she joked.

“What? no way,” he quickly rebutted. He slowly reached to cup her cheeks and turn her head to face him. “It's because you're an amazing person. You're kind and caring and I have a feeling you must have been through so much.” He paused to take a breath as Lilly stared at him like she was watching her favourite movie. “Your jokes are kinda weird but you always have a way of making me smile. You never judge me for crying or saying dumb stuff. And…and...I like playing LOLOL with you.”

Lilly snickered at his last comment. “You really have a way with words, Yoosung Kim.”

“I was trying to cheer you up!” He pouted slightly, as she stood up. He let out an 'oof’ as he was suddenly embraced in a tight hug. “L-Lilly?”

“Thanks, I really appreciate it,” she whispered into his chest.

 

After that whole fiasco, the two of them ate together, occasionally poking fun and making jokes that caused them both to burst out laughing. Lilly almost felt the urge to skip her classes to be around him longer but resisted it. She would just be hard on herself later for it. So instead the two agreed to meet after school and watch a movie.

It was a cliché romance flick. Although Lilly wasn't too keen on these sort of things, she figured Yoosung was. So she opted to suck it up. It still ended up being enjoyable purely for the fact that Yoosung started crying when it looked like things wouldn't work out for the protagonists. It always worked out though. This was a cheesy movie.

Lilly frowned slightly though, as she watched them kiss. Yoosung clinging to her tightly while he rode through his emotions. If only real life worked out like this. If only real life always had a happy ending.

Her eyes flicked over to Yoosung as his gaze was focused purely on what was happening in front of them. The smile that lit up his face when the credits rolled, caused her heart to skip a beat. She shook her head and ran a hand across her lips. What was wrong with her?

The subway ride home was uncomfortably silent. There was barely anyone on, many of the seats vacant and devoid of any passengers. So her mind decided to wander. Replaying today's events over and over in her head. The moment she had gotten upset over the fact that Yoosung might've hated her became her primary focus. Did she feel that close with him already? Did he feel that close with her? She stared down at the palms of her hands as she unfurled her fingers. Observing them closely as they moved.

“Lilly!” She jumped as a familiar voice bombarded her eardrums. They sat next to her as she focused on their face.

“Zen?” He was offering her a friendly smile. His ponytail draped around his right shoulder and cascading down his chest. “What are you doing here? Did you just get back from work?”

“Yeah, a rehearsal actually,” he replied, tilting his head slightly like a curious dog. “What about you? Did you just get back from school?”

“No, I was watching a movie with Yoosung and I guess I lost track of time,” she explained. She lazily rested her chin against the palm of her hand as she spoke.

“With Yoosung, huh?” There was an emotion she couldn't discern mixed in with his cheerful tone of voice. “Do you-do you like Yoosung?”

Lilly blinked, giving him a confused look. Well, she wouldn't exactly hang out with him if she hated him. What kind of question was that? “What do you mean? Of course, I like him, we're friends,” she paused when he laughed. What was so funny?

“That's not exactly what I meant. You're so cute, but nevermind.”

“What? What did you mean then? You can't just say that and then not continue!” Lilly exclaimed as she inched closer to his face.

“Hey, hey, not so close,” he laughed, which only caused her to move closer. His breath hitched as their noses touched. “Lil-?”

“Boop!” She said playfully before quickly moving away, snickering at his surprised reaction. She was acting like a child, she knew that. But it was just so much fun.

“For a second there I thought you were going to- forget it.” He chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head.

“Hmm? What, Zen? Were you having naughty thoughts?” She teased.

“No-No!”

“Zen, you shouldn't involve yourself in any scandals,” she said, imitating Jaehee's voice. Or at least what she thought it sounded like since she had never heard it.

“Wow...that was really good. You sounded almost exactly like Jaehee,” he complimented.

“Wait, seriously? I've never even heard her voice,” she laughed.

“What?! You haven't?!”

“No, I just kinda picked that voice from how she spoke in the chat room. Maybe I should become a voice actor! My new hobby!” She became excited as she flung her hands out, making exaggerated gestures. “Oh, I can do that weird Seven guy, too! Watch!” She took a deep breath to prepare herself as Zen watched expectantly. “This is Seven Zero Seven, nyah~” she winked before sticking out her tongue. A few passengers turned to look at her when she had imitated him. The sudden shift in the pitch of her voice probably made people think she was weird.

“I literally felt a chill race down my spine. That was way too accurate. I can't believe you can imitate a guys voice so well,” Zen said in disbelief.

“Oh! I'm glad you think so!” She giggled when he started laughing.

“You're so full of energy, Lilly.” His smile faded though as he seemed to remember something. He then let out a sigh, which got Lilly curious about what was on his mind. Had she said something that ruined his mood?  
  
“What is it?” She asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

“Everyone seemed pretty suspicious of you in the chat room. But, I know you’re a good person. We haven’t known each other long, but I can just tell, you know? It’s like a gut feeling,” he explained. Good person? What was even the definition of a truly good person? Someone who just lives their everyday lives without committing any wrongdoings; or someone who purposefully goes out of their way to help others in need? She didn’t exactly do either. She felt like she was something that didn’t fit into any specific mould. Though she was certain she didn’t fit into anything he or the rest of the RFA wanted.  
  
She turned away from him, her eyes focusing on the passing scenery outside the nearest window. “How can you be so sure? Maybe I am a bad person.”  
  
“I don’t think a bad person, would admit to being bad. At least...that’s how I see it.” There was a moment of silence as neither of them spoke. Lilly brushed a loose strand of hair from her face, her eyes drifting back towards him. She blinked the moment their gazes met.

“You’re too trusting, you should be more careful. If you do become very famous in the future, people are going to trample all over you. Sometimes you have to ignore your gut feeling and err on the side of caution.”

“A bad person wouldn’t tell me that,” he replied, smiling softly at her. Her heart rate picked up slightly as she looked away in embarrassment.

“That wasn’t the point I was trying to make. Just be more careful.” She could feel her cheeks light up with an unwelcome warmth.

“I'll try to be, but only because such a cutie told me to~,” he said with a playful wink. Lilly stared at him for a second as something came to her mind. Oh, she should invite him over! She could get to know him better and maybe have some fun.

“Zen, actually I was wondering. I know this is kinda short notice but…” he was looking at her with large curious eyes now. Clearly intrigued with what she had to say next. “Maybe if you're not too busy tonight, you could get off at my stop and we could have dinner together, at my place.”

“W-wait, tonight?”

“Yeah? Did you have plans? It's fine if you do, it is kinda last second.”

“No-no, that's not what I meant. I mean, it's so late and I'm a man…”

“Don't worry, we'll be wining and dining first before we get down to business in my bedroom.” Lilly burst out laughing when Zen began choking on his own spit. His reaction to that was almost as good as Yoosung's. “I'm just kidding. We can get to know each other better and I'm not good at planning ahead. Surprises are more fun anyways.”

“You shouldn't make jokes like that, Lilly!” Zen exclaimed, glaring at her. Though he hardly looked angry. More like embarrassed. “Especially with other men, you don't know what kinds of wrong ideas could go through their heads!”

“Only with other men? I guess the great and handsome Zen is too gentlemanly to give in to such urges,” Lilly teased.

“Great and handsome? That may be true but...” Zen let out a strangled sigh. “I guess you're really the one who's too trusting here.”

“So, is that a yes?” Lilly urged.

“You really want me over?”

“Yeah, why wouldn't I!” She replied excitedly which caused Zen to chuckle. He shook his head before ‘reluctantly’ agreeing. She almost felt giddy when he followed her off at her stop.

Though she felt her heart drop into her stomach when she realized she didn't come back early to pick up Castiel. What if he had walked home by himself and gotten kidnapped? Every single worst case scenario made itself known in her mind as she picked up the pace. All her fears from that very morning, coming back. Shoot, she was such an idiot. She was off having fun and completely forgot about him. She was the worst sister on planet Earth.

When they arrived, her fears were put to rest the moment her eyes landed on his small frame. Oh good, he was okay. She sighed as Zen carefully removed his shoes behind her. She followed suit, letting out a breath to calm her nerves.

“This is my humble abode!” She exclaimed, flinging her arms out. She watched as Zen's crimson eyes scanned his surroundings while they walked towards the living room where Castiel was doing his homework.

“It's a lot more expensive looking than I thought it would be. Especially since you're a student that lives alone with her brother,” he admitted, pausing for a second as his eyes seemed the land on the pictures hung up on the walls. “Not that there's anything wrong with that!” He exclaimed, chuckling awkwardly.

Lilly blinked as she made her way over to the fridge. “Want anything to drink?” She offered as she opened it. “I've got soda, juice, a smoothie that I probably wouldn't choose because I have no clue how old it is. Oh, wait, no, that's not a smoothie, nevermind.”

“Got any beer?”

“Beer? No, I don't drink…” Lilly replied, glancing to her side. “I mean, I just became old enough to drink in the first place,” she added, letting out an awkward laugh.

“Wait, you're only nineteen? When was your birthday?” Zen asked incredulously.

“Uh, a couple months ago, I think? I never celebrate it so I don't really remember.”

“December twentieth!” Castiel suddenly piped up.

“Uh, yeah, then.”

“Gawd, you're so young, you're barely even an adult,” Zen teased, winking playfully at her.

“Please, you don't look old yourself, how old are you?” Lilly asked, glaring at him in mock anger. “Besides, I practically raised myself. I'm more than qualified to be called an adult.” Zen's confident smirk faded as he seemed to remember something. Had she said something wrong? Hopefully, he didn't think she was seriously mad at him.

“I forgot you don't really have parents, huh? Well, I don't really have them either. I...I kind of ran away from home. It's a long story, but I just had to follow what I was most passionate about. You know?” No, she didn't. Life had always been about survival up until this point. Get money so she could get food and feed her family. She didn't necessarily have to do that anymore. Especially after meeting Rina but her mind was stuck in a rut.

“No, not really. I-my life has always been a constant struggle for food and money. I guess I never really put much thought into what I'm passionate about.” Why was she admitting these things? She never told anyone this and yet, Zen's friendly albeit, concerned gaze seemed to pry her lips open and spill all her secrets out into the empty space between them. “I went into computers because I was told I could make a lot of money from it. I guess I'm happy with that?”

“You don't sound so sure. Lilly, money isn't everything. You should do what makes you happy too.” Lilly glanced over at Castiel who was staring intently over at them, clearly enthralled by their conversation. That kid was way too curious and observant for his own good.

“Forget it. Why did you tell me that anyways?” She asked as she closed the fridge. Realizing she had been standing there like an idiot with it open.

“Because I feel like we're similar in a lot of ways,” Zen replied, rubbing the back of his neck.

“I guess, kind of. I'd like to get to know you better.”

“Me too,” he said with a smile.

Lilly could feel her face heat up for a second time in a row since she had accidentally ran into him. She immediately pulled some of her hair into her face to cover it. “I'm-I'm not all that interesting…”

“W-wait, Lilly, you don't do anything dangerous like Seven to get your money right?!” Zen suddenly exclaimed.

“Hmm, well I can't guarantee that my job is completely safe,” she teased.

“What?!”

“I'm just kidding, so what’ll it be?” Zen stared at her in confusion for a second before remembering what she meant.  
  
“I’ll just have some water,” he replied, walking over to Castiel before asking what he was working on. Castiel turned to him and smiled before showing him his math homework, which Zen grimaced at. Before laughing and saying that he should keep up the hard work.  
  
“What? That’s so boring,” Lilly drawled, grabbing a glass from her cupboards before filling it in the sink.  
  
“I don’t want anything filled with sugar, those are so unhealthy for you,” He replied, thanking Lilly as she handed him the glass of water. She then quickly went to grab herself some soda.

“Oh, and beer is healthy? That’s news to me,” she teased, hopping over the back of the sofa before plopping herself down on one of the cushions. With a pop, the can in her hand was opened as she took a large sip from it.

“Lilly would you be careful, I practically saw up your…” He trailed off, averting his eyes as he let out a long drawn out sigh; moving around the couch like a normal human being to sit next to her. Lilly opened her mouth to make an inappropriate joke in response but shut it when she realized Castiel was still there. So she opted to go, ‘whoops, silly me~’, instead.

“I guess I should log into the RFA chat room, huh?” Lilly mumbled after a moment of silence.

“What? Huh? Oh, yeah! I forgot that V said he wanted to discuss something with you tonight,” Zen reminded her, pulling out his phone.

“I wonder what he wants to discuss,” Lilly questioned aloud, mimicking Zen's action of opening the app.

“Probably what you'll be doing now that you're a member of the RFA,” Zen suggested, smiling slightly when he realized everyone was online. “They all seem pretty excited, usually everyone isn't on like this two nights in a row.”

“Zen has entered the chatroom”

“Lilly♥ has entered the chatroom”

 **Jaehee:** Zen, you're here.  
**Jaehee:** ...and, Lilly too.

 **Lilly♥:** What kind of unenthusiastic greeting was that? I'm hurt.

 **Jumin:** Good evening, Lilly.

 **Jaehee:** I apologize if I offended you, Lilly. It's just hard to become enthusiastic when a suspicious person enters the chatroom.

 **Yoosung★:** Lilly! Heyy, dids u eathb yetb?  
**Yoosung★:** Oh anb heyyyy Zenn lolol.

 **Zen** : Yoosung, stop playing games and talk to us like a normal human being. Lilly isn't suspicious, she's a nice person.  
**Zen:** Also where is my hello, you jerk!

 **Yoosung★:** I'm not playing games, I'm just excited and my fingers slipped!

 **Jaehee:** I think you're too trusting of others, Zen. I will be the one to judge whether Lilly is truly a good person in time.

 **Lilly♥:** That's what I told him! Lolol  
**Lilly♥:** Also, hello Jumin~  
**  
Zen:** And a bad person wouldn't say that!

 **Jaehee:** Hmmm…

 **Lilly♥:** Anyways I came here for one thing and one thing only. Where is he?

 **Jumin:** V will be here shortly.

 **Lilly♥:** No I mean, Seven!

 **707:** What?! Moi?

 **Lilly♥:** Oui, Oui.

 **707:** lolol, I feel the same with you, Lilly~

 **Lilly♥:** Ooooh~ My heart just skipped a beat~

 **Jaehee:** What on Earth are you two doing?

 **Lilly♥:** Greeting each other. I'm just so excited!  
**Lilly♥:** I've been waiting all day to be blessed with Seven's holy presence.

 **707:** I have arrived my loyal disciple.  
  
**Lilly♥:** ahaha, you're so awesome Seven!

 **Yoosung★:** Lilly, don't ignore me! T-T

 **Lilly♥:** Oh, sorry, Yoosung. Did you get back okay from the movie theatre? Also no I haven't eaten yet. I'm just about to make dinner though.

 **Zen:** I'll help.  
  
**Jaehee:** Help?  
  
**Zen:** Oh yeah, I forgot to say I was at Lilly’s place tonight.  
  
**Yoosung★:** What?!  
  
**Jaehee:** Yes, what?  
**Jaehee:** Hopefully no one saw either of you walking around together. Zen, you know what that could do to your career if a fan misinterprets your relationship with Lilly.

 **Lilly♥:** Don’t worry, we took precautions~  
**Lilly♥:** We walked through a busy subway station holding hands while occasionally kissing, just to be a hundred percent sure no one suspected a thing  >.0  
  
**Jumin:** ….  
  
**707:** lololol!  
**707:** Would’ve fooled me~  
  
**Yoosung★:** Wait you guys...kissed?  
**Yoosung★:** Does that mean your…?  
  
**Zen:** ???  
**Zen:** We didn’t do any of that! If anything it was me running to try to catch up to Lilly who was walking at the speed of light.  
  
**Lilly♥:** Eheh, whoops.  
  
**Jaehee:** Good, hopefully, because of that no one noticed you two were together.  
  
**Zen:** Lilly, I swear you’re like a battery. Always full of energy and bouncing around everywhere. It’s hard to keep up with you.

 **Jumin:** Anyways, V should be here very shortly.  
  
**Yoosung★:** Do you think we’ll get to host parties again?  
  
**Jaehee:** Isn’t that a bit of a leap? Aren’t we just discussing what to do with Lilly until Luciel figures out how she got access to the app?

Lilly turned away from her phone to look at Zen who was smiling brightly down at his. He was excitedly replying to the things his friends were saying and that Lilly was ignoring. In a way, it made her happy that her presence alone brought to life something that made the members of the RFA happy. Though it also confused her. Yoosung had mentioned needing someone to approve of guests and that was it. Surely they didn’t need a whole other person to do that. They all looked like they had enough time on their hands to simply agree to invite someone, or maybe she wasn’t looking into it deeply enough.

Their eyes met and Zen winked at her which caused her to stick out her tongue playfully in response. He laughed, making a peace sign with his fingers which she made a goofy face to. Why were they communicating through weird gestures all of a sudden? Though she didn’t complain as Zen’s laugh reverberated through the room once more.  
  
“Tell me when V joins, I’m going to start on dinner,” Lilly announced, moving to get up.  
  
“Wait, not yet, Seven and Yoosung keep trying to get you to talk. I think that jerk is also kinda curious of you and even though Jaehee’s kinda suspicious of you, I’m sure she’ll warm up with time.” Castiel glanced back at them before going back to his homework. Lilly stared at him for a second, sighing and turning back to the chatroom.  
  
“Fine, let's see,” She mumbled, reading over everything. They were just talking excitedly about hosting another party. Was it that exciting of an event? She’s been to multiple fundraising parties with Rina before and they were all pretty boring. Maybe it was simply because it held sentimental value to them.

 **Lilly♥:** So why are these parties such a big deal anyway?

Lilly watched as the members scrambled to explain how important people would show up and just how much money these parties would raise towards a good cause. This all seemed like pretty standard stuff though. It really didn’t answer her question at all. Then Rika came up, that one person Yoosung liked to mention a lot. The person who apparently wasn’t in this world anymore, a lightbulb went off in her head. So it was this Rika person that made the parties such a big deal. But, she didn’t know her. Wouldn’t it be weird if someone who knew nothing about her took her place? Like going to a friend of a friend’s funeral. It just felt so wrong and out of line.

 **Lilly♥:** I don’t know, wouldn’t it be wrong for me to take Rika’s place and help host parties? I never really knew her, so it would be disrespectful of me to just jump right in where she left off.  
  
**Yoosung★:** Lilly…  
  
**Lilly♥:** I meant no disrespect, I don’t really even know how I got access to this app. But I will happily delete the app and wipe my phone.  
**Lilly♥:** If you wish I can even show any member you like that I have not saved any guest information. You can go through my computer and phone or whatever else, to prove I have not saved anything and then we can move on with our lives.

 **707:** Just because you haven't saved it physically, doesn't mean it's not saved mentally

 **Jumin:** Lilly, do not concern yourself with such things. V authorized you to become a member, therefore, for the time being, you are.

 **Jumin:** I personally do not feel attacked or disrespected by you possibly taking over Rika's role.

 **Zen:** Me neither, I think the RFA needs this change. We've been inactive for so long.

 **Yoosung★:** Yeah!  
**Yoosung★:** I believe Rika would've wanted this. I bet she's smiling up there in heaven now that we might be hosting parties again.

 **Jaehee:** I agree and I have to admit, hosting another party does sound somewhat exciting.

 **707:** I order you to stay, assistant Lilly~

 **Lilly:** An order from Seven? How can I refuse~

V decided to make his grand entrance at that moment and like everyone suspected, he placed her into the role of party coordinator. She gulped audibly at everyone chattering excitedly about it. It was great they were overjoyed with this decision. The organization seemed very dear to everyone but at the same time, she felt, pressured? Like if she made one wrong move she would be raining on everyone's parade and disappointing them.

“Don't worry, you'll do great,” Zen reassured as if reading her mind. She jumped, almost forgetting he was still there. Turning to look at him, she couldn't help but give him a lopsided smile when he gave her a more reassuring one.

“I hope so,” she replied as V began to explain and discuss what her new role would entail. Okay, so she just had to answer emails guests would send her, appropriately. They would appear in this app, so this app was all she needed. Easy enough...for somebody else that is. Man, they really picked the wrong person for this job. First impressions were not her strong suit. Rina always made it a point to tell her how she's always too blunt and crude in front of people she didn't know. Ugh, great. Maybe this was going to be harder than she first thought. But a challenge is always fun, right? Hopefully...

“Big-big sis?” Her head immediately snapped up to Castiel who had closed his books. He was staring at her and frowning slightly. A small, chubby hand covering his stomach like it was hurting him.

“What's wrong?!” She was immediately on him, checking for any injuries. Though when he shook his head and simply said he was hungry, she let out a noise of relief. “Oh, good. Well let's whip up something to eat, huh? You go grab the ingredients and I'll grab the pans and bowls, okay?” He nodded enthusiastically before padding over to the fridge. With a click she heard it open, watching the back of his fluffy head of crimson hair bounce as he tried to reach towards the food stored atop the highest shelf.

“Alright, I'll help too,” Zen clapped his hand down on her shoulder and she almost jumped out of her skin for the second time in a row that night. She needed to remember he was still around.

“Are you sure? You don't have to. I'll get something ready in no time,” she replied, smirking confidently at him.

“Well then with my help it will be done even faster,” he chuckled, following Castiel's lead.

“The faster you eat, the faster you get to leave I suppose,” she joked, though Zen didn't take it as one. He immediately turned and frowned at her upon the conclusion of it.

“That's-that’s not what I meant. I'm glad we got to spend time together tonight and I don't want a beautiful lady such as yourself doing all the work while I sit around,” he explained, winking at her once more. Lilly stared at his face as if deep in thought for a few seconds before averting her eyes.

“I-I don't know if I'm exactly the best person for the job of party coordinator or whatever. I'm not exactly known for my eloquent phrases and sophisticated words,” she admitted, laughing as she said the last part in a stupid voice.

“Well you do make some strange jokes sometimes, I'll admit that. But I think you can do it. You just have this air about you that draws people in.”

“Are you sure it's not away?” Lilly asked as she went to reach for a bowl. Zen got it down for her and she blinked when their hands almost touched.

“I'm sure,” he said. A shiver rocketed down her spine at the feeling of his breath ghosting the back of her head. She whipped around, looking for the next thing she needed that was as far away from him as possible. Immediately moving to retrieve it.

The rest of the time they spent cooking was mostly filled with Castiel and Zen chatting either to her or each other. Zen was a lot better with kids than she would've thought at first glance, which impressed her. Castiel also seemed relatively comfortable in his presence and she couldn't help but smile as she watched him help her brother cut vegetables.

After supper, they chatted for quite a while. Mostly about Zen’s acting career which she found herself extremely interested in. Maybe she would swing by his workplace to see him practice. The thought sent a thrill through her body. Maybe she could practice with him! She couldn't wipe the smile off her face even as she watched Zen leave. Saying something about how he really shouldn't stay any later as a man. Though she didn't care, she was ready to set her plan of visiting him at work into motion. She made sure to get his address before he left. With an excited wave, she saw him off.

Turning back to her brother, she promptly marched him to bed. It was late and he had school tomorrow. Sitting in a chair by his bed, she began to read him a story. He had his blankets pulled up to his chin as he stared at her through large blue eyes.

“Lilly, do you think mom ever loved us?” He suddenly piped up halfway through the children's novel. Lilly stopped reading, her eyes drifting up to his form. She could feel dread building up in her stomach upon the sudden mention of their parents.

“Hmm? Where is this question suddenly coming from?”

“It's just that, my friends at school. They have parents that come to pick them up. They have parents that are always there for them. But we don't.”

“Yes, we don't.” Please drop the subject she begged mentally, groaning internally when he opened his mouth once more.

“But why? Why doesn't mom love us? Why did dad run away?”

“I-I don't know. Maybe it was because mom-mom only wanted to love herself…” Castiel gave her a confused look as if he was trying to piece together what she was saying. His gaze fell upon his colorful blankets as if thinking before quickly turning back to her.

“And dad?” Lilly bit her lip, scratching the back of her neck.

“He-he was a coward who didn't want to deal with us anymore.”

“So he thought we were a problem?”

“Who knows what he thought. But he was gone long before you were born.”

“Lilly, do you think something is wrong with us? Is that why grandma left too?” Castiel's voice shook as he asked his question, tears brimming his eyes. She immediately pulled him into a hug. Kissing his tears away.

“Grandma, she-well, she had to go to heaven. It wasn't her choice like mom and dad.”

“I know…” He sounded defeated and it struck her heart in all the wrong ways.

“No, there isn't anything wrong with us. Sometimes people make bad choices and think only of themselves. So others suffer in return for their selfishness. But that's okay, cause we're not suffering like mom wanted. We're living a good life now and we're happy, together, right bud?” He smiled slightly at that before wrapping his own small arms around her.

“Lilly-you won't-you won't leave too, will you?” He stuttered.

“I can't make any promises but-” She frowned when he frowned. “but I'll try my hardest not to.” She couldn't lie to him, she seriously didn't know if she could be around forever. She didn't want to promise him things she might not keep. It's not that she planned to leave. It's just that she wanted him to not rely too heavily on the fact that she'd always be here. So if she disappeared he could move on. “Just know that if I ever do, for whatever reason, that I love you very much.”

“I love you too,” he whispered as Lilly lifted up his blankets to get under with him.

“How about I sleep with you tonight?” She chuckled when he nodded enthusiastically. “Alright, let's finish that story~”


	8. An Unknown Encounter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so long to update, I just really lost the motivation to write recently. I've had this much written for a while but I just didn't consider it done. But I think it ends okay; either way, thanks so much for taking the time to read this and I hope you enjoy. 
> 
> A big thanks to Lokiiwood(undersans) for beta reading this chapter for me. Love you <3
> 
> Tumblr: [@aromaticboar](https://aromaticboar.tumblr.com)  
> Ko-fi: [@Xenolith](https://ko-fi.com/aromaticboar)

‘Crash!’ Lilly’s eyes snapped open as she sucked in a string of saliva hanging from her parted lips. Her eyes felt like they were encrusted in dried up glue, so she ran her hand across it to clear them. She shot upright as another loud bang resounded throughout her apartment. The heck was that? Where was she? Had she been kidnapped? Had Castiel been kidnapped?

At that last thought she raced up and out of bed, slamming open the bedroom door before stepping into view of the open living area. “Castiel-!” she started, her voice dying in her throat as her eyes landed on Castiel and Yoosung, who were both standing in her kitchen. They stared at her with wide eyes at her sudden and loud entrance, Lilly’s own shifting back and forth between them in confusion. “Yoosung? Are you trying to kidnap my brother?!” Her mind was still very much half asleep.

“W-what? No, of course not!” Was his immediate response as he blushed and looked away from her. “B-but Lilly, you’re not wearing much-” He pointed out, placing a hand over his eyes. She blinked, looking down at herself. The only things she were wearing was a long, white, button up shirt and her underwear. She shrugged, whatever, it wasn’t more than you’d see at a beach anyways. She had other matters to attend to besides her current state of undress.

“What do you think you’re doing here, huh? Breaking into my home,” she taunted, padding over towards him. “Maybe I should call security on you,” she added, placing her face directly in front of his own. He was a dark crimson now as he tried desperately not to look at her, though he was failing miserably.

“Pl-please, Lilly,” he begged pathetically while Lilly’s eyes roamed over the kitchen counters, noticing the various bowls and ingredients spread across them that she had failed to see before.

“You’re trying to poison my brother!” She exclaimed after standing there for a few seconds staring at a random kitchen utensil stupidly. Castiel began giggling and she instinctively turned to him due to the noises he was making, giving him a stern look. “Being poisoned isn’t funny,” she groggily scolded.

“I let Yoosung in, we’re making crepes!” He announced cheerfully. Lilly stared at him, squinting, like her brain was lagging behind.

“Oh, that’s great, night…” She mumbled before curling up on the floor like a dog and burying her head in her arms.

“Lilly, don’t sleep on the floor!” Yoosung said, as he nudged her gently. She mumbled incoherently, swatting his hands away while saying something about hating flies. “You’re going to catch a cold,” he whined, reaching towards her. He swallowed thickly, pausing just before his hands could make contact with her lithe figure; his fingers hovering above the exposed ivory skin of her legs.

“Then carry me,” she teased, causing Yoosung to sputter embarrassedly. “I’m waiting~” she singsonged after he continued to stare at her for a good minute and a half without moving.

“F-fine, hold on,” he mumbled, digging his arms under her small frame. She could tell his breathing had picked up exponentially as he lifted her up into his arms. She kept her eyes closed, smirking at the feeling of his breath fanning across her features. It felt good to be held, a lot better than she expected anyways. She felt light and almost weightless, her legs and hair dangling towards the floor. “Is this okay?” he whispered.

“No, hold on one second.” She squirmed around until his hand was placed directly on her ass, laughing when he almost dropped her. “There, much better~”

“Lilly!” he screeched as she burst out laughing, hopping out of his arms and onto her feet. Winking at him, she made her way over to the bathroom.

“I’m going to shower, try not to light the place on fire, okay?” She said, before stepping into the small room and out of sight.

“What’s wrong, Yoosung? Why’d you yell like that?” Castiel asked, completely clueless as to what was happening. Lilly had to suppress another laugh while she turned on the warm water.

 

“So, care to explain what you were doing at my place, at six in the morning making random breakfast foods with my brother,” Lilly piped up. Her and Yoosung were now walking next to each other down a busy sidewalk, shrouded in children and their doting parents. Having just dropped Castiel off at school, they were making their way to their own.

“I thought maybe you’d like something to eat when you woke up,” he mumbled, glancing to his side shyly. Just when she thought they had gotten over the shy faze, sigh.

“I mean it was good and all, I hate cooking. But it was a teensy bit weird,” she said, making a motion with her hand to represent a tiny bit of something.

“And you making me touch your-you know-isn’t?!” He quickly accused through clenched teeth.

“Touche,” she replied, bumping him with her hip and causing him to yelp in surprise. She smirked up at him, “I’m just joking, I like having you around.” Her chest lit up with a welcome warmth when his expression softened and his lips upturned into a half smile. His eyes are so pretty, how come she never noticed that before?

“So, Lilly, why was Zen over at your place last night?” Why did the atmosphere suddenly change to something menacing and dark? It was just starting to make her feel warm and fuzzy too.

“Uh, I don’t know. I met him on my way home last night and I asked him if he wanted to come over and chat. I figured it would be nice to get to know him better, especially since I’m an RFA member now.”

“Oh.” The heck was his problem? She blinked, looking him over. He was glaring at nothing in particular, like he was angry at his own thoughts. She blinked, turning towards him. She noticed that while they had been eating earlier, he kept replying with odd one word answers and he was especially more clumsy today. He also would continuously look towards her and he seemed to constantly be searching for her approval of mundane things. Perhaps he was losing confidence in himself? Maybe she needed to reassure him.

She placed a hand on his back, “You don’t need to worry,” she started, giving him a reassuring grin. “As long as you studied for your biology test today, it should be fine.”

“Wait, I have a test today?! No, I completely forgot!” He yelled, now panicking. Maybe she said the wrong thing.

“Don’t worry we have about another…” she trailed off as she checked the time on her phone. “Two hours before class starts. You can start cramming, I’ll help. So come on, we got to hurry!” She exclaimed, grasping his hand in her own as they sped up. “We can start on the bus,” she laughed, their feet crunching through the snow. Yoosung muttered a quick yeah as she suddenly felt him tighten his grip on the hand holding him, the warmth of their skin mingling.

Once they were on the bus Lilly was quick to get Yoosung to take out his textbooks; going over with him everything that would supposedly be on the test. Lilly occasionally checked the clock on her laptop once they had settled in the school library, groaning internally as time ticked by. Thanks to Yoosung's forgetfulness they spent the whole morning together. Yoosung sitting flush up against her in the library as he tried to memorize all the information he needed in the last second. Everytime he would get distracted, she would punish him by threatening to delete his LOLOL account or quiting the RFA which immediately got him studying again. By the end of it, she was exhausted. Between basically teaching Yoosung everything he should’ve already known and her own school work, she was drained. She almost let out a sigh of relief as she waved goodbye to Yoosung, wishing him a good luck as he left for his class. He better at least get a passing grade, she thought.

Turning back to the laptop resting on the library table in front of her, she jumped as her phone suddenly buzzed. Bringing her attention to it instead. Deciding she needed a break anyways, she quickly went to check it. A chatroom had opened, huh, wonder what that could be about.

“Lilly♥ has entered the chatroom”

 **Jumin** : Oh, Lilly, good morning.

 **Lilly** ♥: Jumin, hey!  
**Lilly** ♥: How come you’re on, don’t you have work?

 **Jumin** : I finished early and I was about to have lunch so I decided I had the time to chat.  
**Jumin** : You arrived just in time, it seems nobody else is online.  
**Jumin** : I’d like to get to know you better, so this is quite convenient.

 **Lilly** ♥: Me? I’m honored lolol  
**Lilly** ♥: I’m just your typical university student, nothing special.  
**Lilly** ♥: But anyways, ask away. What would you like to know? >.0

 **Jumin** : Well your name isn’t typical, lets start there.

 **Lilly** ♥: Oooh, so blunt and straightforward. I like it~  
**Lilly** ♥: I’m not originally from this country, I was born and raised in the good old US of A.  
**Lilly** ♥: My full name is Lilly Churchill.

 **Jumin** : Hmm, interesting, then I assume your first language is English?  
**Jumin** : Why did you decide to move?

 **Lilly** ♥: My mother tongue is English, bing bing bing, you are correct! Haha  
**Lilly** ♥: Family is the short answer and the only one I’m willing to give.  
**Lilly** ♥: Now I want to ask you questions!

 **Jumin** : That only seems fair. What would you like to know?

 **Lilly** ♥: I heard from Zen that you own a cat. What’s its name?

 **Jumin** : I didn’t know Zen of all people would mention Elizabeth.  
**Jumin** : Her name is Elizabeth The 3rd, she’s a beautiful and graceful creature.  
**Jumin** : Hold on just one moment, I will show you a picture. I was planning on looking at them later anyways.

 **Lilly** ♥: He didn’t exactly mention her, happily haha.

 **Jumin** : He was bad mouthing my Elizabeth behind my back?

 **Lilly** ♥: Kind of, moreso the fact that you like her so much. But I don’t mind, cats are cute~

 **Jumin** : I’m glad you can appreciate the beauty of cats, Lilly. Unlike somebody…

Lilly smiled slightly as Jumin sent her a picture of his cat. It was pretty, she looked like a specific breed rather than just your average stray. He must’ve paid good money for her, though he was a rich CEO so that made sense. It looked healthy and happy, that much she was sure of.

 **Lilly** ♥: She looks happy, you must take good care of her.

 **Jumin** : Of course, she is very precious to me.  
**Jumin** : …

 **Lilly** ♥: What’s with the ellipses?

 **Jumin** : You seem very different when you’re not constantly joking around.

 **Lilly** ♥: In a good or a bad way?

 **Jumin** : I’m not quite sure yet. Though I feel it is somewhat of an improvement from my first impression of you.

 **Lilly** ♥: Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?!

 **Jumin** : I hope I see this side of you more often.  
**Jumin** : Anyways, I must go now. I apologize if you had any further questions, however, I will be on later so you may ask then.  
**Jumin** : Well then…

 **Lilly** ♥: Peace out!

“Jumin has left the chatroom”

“Lilly♥ has left the chatroom”

Hmm, a nice chat with a corporate heir, that was not something she had been expecting. Though she was slightly disappointed it wasn't Seven. She kind of was in the mood to joke around, not have a serious conversation. Maybe she'd text him and see how he was doing.

“Knock knock,” she typed out before quickly hitting send. She sat there with a smile waiting for his reply.

“Who's there?” she giggled stupidly, thinking up her next response.

“Vi.”

“Vi who?”

“Vi aren't you using Emacs?!”

“Haha, you're hilarious, Lilly~” She chuckled softly as he sent her another cheesy programming joke. She then sent one more in return before she was laughing like an idiot, her phone screen becoming filled with corny programming humor. They were probably doing it for a good ten minutes before she finally ran out of them. She was too light headed from all the laughing to think clearly anyways.

“That was awesome, I needed a good laugh,” she sent, letting out a breath.

“Me too! I've been so tired trying to find out how you got the app and doing work that I haven't been able to sleep TwT.” She frowned at that, he hasn't been able to sleep?

“I can do some of your work if you like, you should get some rest.” What was she saying? She didn't even know the guy or his name and yet she was willing to help him with his sketchy job? Maybe she just felt guilty she was the reason he was currently suffering.

“Are you worrying for me? Thank you, but a bright and kind person like you should stay away from my line of work. I wouldn't want you to get involved.” Lilly blinked, what was he on about? The heck kind of work did he do?

“Just send me the files,” she replied, getting annoyed when he quickly sent her a 'no can do’ and 'it’s top secret anyways’. “Your secret is safe with me~”

“How do I know that? >_<”

“I give you my word that I will not sell the information on the dark web...Okay, maybe just a little.”

“So then my secret is not safe with you!” he accused.

“You weren't going to send them anyways,” she typed back, giving her phone an unamused look as if Seven was actually able to see it.

“How did you know?!”

She smirked as they chatted a bit more before he said he had work to finish and needed to get back to it. She made sure to tell him to get some rest, though she grew even more worried when he alluded to the fact that he'd only be taking a short nap. It was better than nothing, but after pulling what sounded like an all nighter? It wasn't good. She shook her head, why did she care anyways? She shouldn't, but for some reason she couldn't help it. They spoke to each other like they had been friends for years and maybe her mind had been tricked.

“Ah, whatever, I've got my own work to do,” Lilly mumbled to herself as she stretched her arms up over her head. “I'm so tired already though,” she added to her previous train of thought as she stared blankly at her code for a minute. She had been stuck on this one question for an hour now and it was getting harder to care about it as each second ticked by. With a clack she closed her laptop and stuffed it into her bag. “Forget it, I'm gonna go for a run.”

Walking through bustling hallways and almost getting trampled a few times, she finally made it off campus. She sighed as her legs felt like jelly from sitting around for so long. Yawning, she let her body take itself to wherever it wanted to go. Her feet crunching against snow as she went. She wondered when the heck the cold weather would go away so she could sit outside and enjoy a picnic. She was sick and tired of moving from building to building to stay warm. She always considered herself as more of an outdoorsy person. Oh, a nightclub!

She stepped inside and glanced around, realizing it was virtually empty. The place was filled with a lot of dark black, it covered the walls and most of the floors aside from large neon lines and designs that stood out strikingly from the rest of the decor. It was akin to graffiti, though that's probably the look they were going for. It was still the middle of the day, so it made sense that nobody would be there. Though she was immediately drawn to a leather clad form. He was poking at his drink, mint eyes following his straw as he pulled it in and out of the bubbling liquid. Why did he look familiar? And why was he wearing a mask?

“Sae-ran?” Lilly stuttered timidly, wracking her gaze over his form. He immediately turned to her, a look of surprise in his eyes before it quickly turned to anger.

“I'm not Saeran,” he ground out. She blinked, letting out an awkward laugh.

“Yeah, what was I thinking? Sorry about that.” Lilly turned away, now thoroughly embarrassed. Of course it wasn't Saeran, he was off at some other university far away from here. Why would he come back? He must've forgotten her by now. Maybe he found his brother? The unknown man suddenly swiftly grabbed hold of her wrist. She jumped at the sudden contact but shifted her focus back to him nonetheless.

“Lilly, don't go,” he sounded almost desperate which confused her. How did he know her name?

“You know me?”

He laughed, like it was some kind of joke. Though it didn't sound amused, it was dry and humorless. “Of course, I've known you for a long time.” She raised an eyebrow at him, trying to figure out who he was. If he wasn't Saeran, than who was he? She tilted her head to the side like a confused dog as she tried to figure out who this masked stranger was.

“Oh! You must watch my Metube videos, right? I know, I'm so cute,” Lilly replied, making a playful peace sign with her fingers.

“I do watch your videos, I watch everything you do.” He was smiling at her, she didn't know how but she could just tell. She smiled back, which caused his grip on her wrist to grow stronger.

“Maybe I'll get us both drinks and we can chat, hah, it's pretty empty isn't it?” Lilly said, checking her surroundings once more.

“I haven't really been paying attention,” he stated as he seemed to almost reluctantly release her wrist. She nodded as they made their way over to the counter to order their drinks. Her attention drawn to their various options, growing slightly irritated when the man next to her decided to order in her stead. He was going to order her something alcoholic, wasn't he?

“I don't drink, by the way, so-”

“I know, your favorite soda is diet Bepsi Cola but you always have sparkling lemonade when you're upset.”

Lilly gawked at him as said soda was placed directly in front of her by the employee. She stared at it, watching each bubble rise to the surface before popping. “I didn't know I revealed that much about me in my videos,” she replied, trying to recall when she had ever said what her favorite drinks were and her exact reasons for drinking them. She ended up drawing a blank, running her eyes over the man next to her as he picked up their drinks and promptly shoved her back towards their table. He seemed a little too excited to sit with her and his constant close proximity was putting her on edge. She made sure to sit on the opposite side from him, feeling a sense of relief at their distance. Though he didn't seem happy with it at all. She swallowed thickly when he glared daggers at her, but she was quick to ignore it.

“You should be in school right now.” It wasn't a question, it was almost as if he was certain where she would and wouldn't be.

“I guess but I don't have class for another hour so I decided to go for a run.”

“A run? But you never-it’s that redhead isn't it?”

“Huh? Redhead?” She tilted her head to the side again.

“Stop doing that, it's annoying.” Annoying? Stop doing what? She puffed out her cheek angrily as she could feel something else bubbling up within her and it wasn't her drink.

“What's your name anyways? It's only fair since you know mine,” she questioned, leaning over the table as if that would make her appear more intimidating. He narrowed his eyes at her, but it seemed to be in amusement. Okay, it was confirmed now that she did not look scary or menacing in any way. Especially since the outfit she chose today consisted of a very colorful jumpsuit covered in little blue stars over a matching long sleeve, turtleneck. She probably looked like a child; maybe she could try for a children’s ticket next time she went somewhere. No, bad Lilly, focus. “So, are you gonna answer me?” He laughed as she tried to make herself look bigger only to almost stumble off her chair. “I meant to do that.”

“You’re doing it wrong, you need to do it more like this.” Her eyes widened as he leaned over the table, slamming his hands down on its surface. The flimsy wooden piece of furniture shook, while the look he sent her shifted to something dangerous. He drew closer to her, forcing her back into her seat as she tried to get away. She squeaked when his face was but a hair's breadth away from her own. She could feel his breath fanning across her features even through the mask he wore and it sent a shiver down her spine. His breath was a mix between mint chocolate chip ice cream and alcohol? No, that wasn’t right. Damn, she was getting distracted again. “I always hated how you covered your eyes with these stupid things,” he spat, after what felt like an eternity of them staring at each other. He then pulled her glasses off of her face, throwing them onto the table like they were nothing but a bit of useless trash. He brushed her hair behind her ear, seeming to relish at the feeling of his hand making contact with her cheek. “Much better.”

Her breath hitched, feeling completely exposed with both her eyes showing. Though he didn’t seem to care as he placed a hand under her chin to admire them. He was acting almost as if they were prized gems and he was inspecting them for their authenticity. Or maybe just admiring them like they were created through his own handiwork. She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Her throat felt almost clogged by an invisible force, maybe fear? She wasn’t sure. She gripped the sides of her chair, pressing down around it until her hands turned white.

“Blue and green, so unique, just like you.” He trailed his finger across her forehead and down her nose. She could feel her heart rate increase, her body frozen in place like his very gaze paralyzed her. She jumped slightly as he placed a hand over her blue eye, a smirk gracing his lips. “One green eye, you’ll be so perfect to bring to paradise.” She suddenly built up enough courage to push his hand away. Paradise...where had she heard that before? She questioned herself while the unknown man sat himself back down. “Hmmm~ Are you uncomfortable, princess? Don't be, I intend to treat you the way you're meant to be treated. I will make you happy, but not right now. Not yet.”

“Paradise? What are you on about?” Her voice shook slightly as she reached for her glasses. She squealed quietly when he slapped a hand around her wrist, letting out a 'tsk tsk’.

“I told you, I don't like those stupid things. Stop wearing them.” It wasn't a suggestion, it was an order.

“I don't need to listen to you,” Lilly ground out, forcing her arm out of his grip as she defiantly shoved them back on. He growled low and under his breath. The sound put her on edge as she could feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

“You would've listened to him, but not me. You would've immediately embraced him, wouldn't you? Yelling about how much you've missed him.”

“Who are you talking about? Who's him?”

“Saeran.” He spat the name at her in disgust, like he had a personal vendetta against him. Lilly balled her fists up instinctively, feeling anger and rage build up within her. It rolled and churned around in her stomach as she began grinding her teeth together. What was this guy's problem? He didn’t hurt Saeran, did he?

Just as she was about to ask him what he meant, he slammed his hand into his forehead, his expression contorting into one filled with pain. He frowned, clenching his eyes shut while he let out aggravated grunts. Any rage building up within Lilly immediately left her and in its place grew concern. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?” She asked, reaching over to him. She yelped when he slapped her hand away, yelling for her to ‘shut up’ and ‘F off’. She glared at him, his aggressiveness only spurring her forward. Though all her persistence did was cause him to knock both their drinks over in his anger, telling some imaginary voice in his head to stay the hell where it belonged.

Though before she could do anything or the bar employee could kick them out, he fled from the building. Lilly flinched when the sound of the door being slammed open and closed could be heard. Letting out a breath, she didn’t bother following him. Instead she grabbed some napkins to clean up the mess he made then headed back to class.

 

“Yoosung, there you are, I’ve been waiting for you~” Lilly teased, blowing him a kiss. Yoosung was standing around chatting with a few of his peers, all of them happening to be single males. She smirked when they started asking him about his so called ‘girlfriend’. Yoosung’s face lit up with a blush as he immediately denied any claims that they were together, though they didn’t believe him. Lilly only made matters worse by winking at him suggestively when he turned to get her to back his claims up. His words died in his throat and Lilly swore his face had now turned a more bright red than the ripest tomato she could find. “Oh Yoosung, let's go on our date. I missed you much today,” She joked in a stupid voice, fluttering her lashes at him.

She burst out laughing when his classmates wished him a good luck and he stomped over to her with his cheeks puffed out angrily. “What was that?!” He exclaimed, flinging his arms up into the air exasperatedly.

“You look like an angry marshmallow,” Lilly replied between intakes of air and loud snort filled laughter.

“I do not!” He immediately rebutted, getting even more annoyed when she answered with a ‘yes, you do’. His eyes wracked over her form as he tried to come up with some kind of witty comeback. “Yeah, well you look like…” he trailed off, unsure of what his next words should be.

Lilly gave him a smug look upon his lack of a good response. “Better be careful on what you say next, I bite.” She playfully chomped at the air in front of her to prove her point. “But biting you isn’t why I’m here, as fun as that would be. I’m here to invite myself over to your place, I won’t take no for an answer!”

“My place? But it’s a mess. I haven’t had time to clean it or set anything up,” he argued.

“It wasn’t exactly clean and pristine last time you invited me,” she teased. “But fine, I suppose I have to pick Castiel up from school anyways. So I’ll order pizza to my place and force you to come with me instead.” She smiled when he nodded enthusiastically.

“But don’t think I forgot how you teased me, though I guess pizza will make up for it. Oh, and Honey Buddha Chips.”

“Consider both those things done,” she replied, as they began making their way to the nearest bus stop. “You know, today I met this scary guy.”

“Scary guy?” Yoosung immediately turned to her, his voice dripping with concern. “He didn't do anything to you, did he?!”

“After he left, while I was sitting in class, all I could think about was how much I wished you were there. In a way, when I saw you again, it made me feel calm. Like meeting that guy never happened,” she admitted. She could feel her cheeks heat up and she was sure Yoosung felt the same.

“R-really?” he stuttered.

“Nah, you would've just run away and left me behind~” She joked, causing him to immediately tell her that isn't true. Though she didn't pay much attention, as she turned her head away from him, reaching her hand out towards his own. She swore her heart skipped at least five beats when their fingers grazed each other and she felt the warmth emanating from his skin while she drew ever closer. Finally slotting her palm in with his, she felt like she was practically on fire; her actions causing Yoosung to immediately shut up. Though she quickly pulled away before he could react. It was like her mind had finally caught up with the present. She laughed and opted to shrug it off like it was an accident. Though the huge shit eating grin on Yoosung's face told her he didn't believe it.

She almost yelped in surprise when he wrapped his hand around her own of his own accord. This time, she didn't pull away. Instead she welcomed it, at least mentally; since despite his insistence to grip onto her, she just wasn't able to return the gesture. All she could do was let her hand go limp and attempt to not rip it away in her embarrassment and nervousness.

“Lilly, your-your hand is really warm,” he whispered as they barely registered the fact that they were now standing at the bus stop.

“I-so is yours,” she replied, curling her fingers slightly for a second to graze her nails across his knuckles. She could hear him suck in a breath in response to her actions; time itself slowing down to a snail's pace. She swore she could practically trace the shape of each individual snowflake that fluttered past them, with how much it was lagging.

The moment was shattered when their bus came to a screeching halt before them. Their hands instinctively pulling apart like they had sinned before God himself. It was strange, in a way; Lilly was so confident when making sexual jokes and yet she felt so timid around Yoosung.

She let out an aggravated groan while taking a seat next to the blonde. She was frustrated with herself and her sudden lack of confidence. Though even with that fresh on her mind, she couldn't help but shuffle a little closer to him. Their legs brushing up against each other the entire way back, yet it wasn’t because she was teasing him. It was because she genuinely wanted to. This was all so strange and foreign.

 

Lilly yawned loudly as she placed a plate full of pancakes in front of Castiel. She moved to grab him some fruits and syrup to put on top as well, now regretting the fact that she had invited Yoosung over to play games all last night. She was exhausted and even that was an understatement. Did she have a test today? Shoot, normally she remembered these things. Yoosung was becoming too much of a distraction!

She flopped herself onto the backrest of her couch. Her arms hanging limply on both sides while she fought with her brain not to skip school today. Maybe after walking Castiel to his school, she would get her blood pumping a little.

Lilly blinked tiredly when her phone went off, vibrating the glass of the nearby coffee table. She tried to reach for it, only to roll off onto the floor and slam her forehead painfully against the edge of it. “Ow,” she said to no one in particular, deciding laying on the floor was what she wanted to do from now on. She held her phone over her face, squinting at the screen when she noticed an RFA chatroom had opened.

“Lilly♥ has entered the chatroom”

 **Zen** : Good morning, Lilly~

 **Jaehee** : Oh, Lilly, Morning.

 **Lilly** ♥: shehwkabghenekegbnqkobg

 **Jaehee** : ???

 **Lilly** ♥: I dropped my phone on my face.  
**Lilly** ♥: But, good breakfast.

 **Zen** : Good breakfast? ^^;

 **Jaehee** : That reminds me, I haven't eaten breakfast yet.  
**Jaehee** : I just haven't had the time.

 **Zen** : Don't tell me that jerk is overworking you again?

 **Lilly** ♥: I have pancakes and fruits if you want some, my treat.

 **Jaehee** : That's...very considerate of you, Lilly. But unfortunately I don't have the time to go pick them up.

 **Lilly** ♥: That's okay, I can do delivery. I'll even write you a little note~  
**Lilly** ♥: Have a great day, love Lilly, xoxoxoxoxo and lots of hearts.

 **Jaehee** : That's not necessary.

 **Lilly** ♥: I knew you'd be interested!  
**Lilly** ♥: Zen, what about you? Pancakes?!

 **Zen** : I have practice soon, I don't know if you'll make it in time. ^^;

 **Lilly** ♥: Oh! I get to go to Jaehee’s workplace and Zen’s. So fun~

 **Jaehee** : Lilly, aren't you a student? Don't you have class this morning?

 **Zen** : Yeah, don't turn into Yoosung and start skipping classes.

 **Lilly** ♥: Yeah, you're right. I should just give you guys the pancakes for dinner.  
**Lilly** ♥: Breakfast for dinner is the best!

 **Jaehee** : I see…

 **Zen** : I could see you tonight, Lilly! You don't have to bring the pancakes though.

 **Lilly** ♥: But they're the best part!

Lilly chatted with them for a bit longer before they both went their separate ways for work and other such plans. She was glad to see that Jaehee was somewhat warming up to her. Well maybe ‘warming up’ wasn’t the right choice of words, more like tolerating. Well either way, she was happy.

She made her way up off the floor when she heard the buzzer go off. What was with all these visits to her house? She was much happier when it was just the occasional Rina. Gah, my backs hurts, she thought, letting in whoever it was without even bothering to speak to them. She had an inkling of who it was anyway, either Rina or Yoosung.

She wandered around, hiding all visible garbage and dirty clothing before her guest made it up the elevator. Gosh, had she been slacking or what? There was junk everywhere. She was hardly surprised, however, that none of it was Castiel’s. Unlike her he was relatively neat and tidy, while she was a complete slob. A sigh passed her lips when the space around her was sufficiently cleaned, stretching her back out with an audible pop. The doorbell decided to ring right at that moment, warning her of the guest now at her doorstep, perfect timing. She trudged over to it, flinging it open and blinking stupidly at Yoosung’s form. Didn’t she just see him last night?

“Couldn’t stay away?” she asked jokingly, snickering at the blush that stained his cheeks.

“I just-you’re going to school soon right? I didn’t want you to go alone. You know if that guy from yesterday shows up again,” he explained, fiddling with his fingers.

“Yeah you’re right, you’ll need someone to protect you~” She joked, causing Yoosung to roll his eyes playfully. What? That wasn’t the response she wanted, she was hoping he’d make a scene. He wasn’t getting used to her sense of humor already, was he? That would be boring. She pouted childishly at his lack of a response, gesturing for him to come in while she got ready to go.

 

After she dropped off Castiel at school, she was back on her familiar schedule; walking to school with Yoosung. The blonde seemed cheerful today, a bounce in his step. “Why are you so happy today?” she asked, blinking when he let out a soft chuckle.

“I don't know, I just am,” he replied, scratching the back of his head.

“Hmmmm~ Is it because I'm just so cute?” Lilly jokingly asked, before winking and sticking out her tongue playfully.

“No, cause you're not cute.” Lilly was about to make a comment but was cut off before she could. “You're beautiful.” She practically choked on her own spit, coughing loudly before covering it up with a laugh.

“Hah, beautiful, good one, Yoosung,” she replied, gently smacking his arm to accentuate the fact that she believed it to be a 'good joke’.

“I'm not joking!” Yoosung exclaimed, a bright blush staining his features. “You're-you’re-you know…” he mumbled shyly.

“No, I really don't,” was her response, causing him to let out an aggravated huff. She giggled in amusement to his annoyance, making a finger gun with her right hand. “I'm like, the ugliest thing on planet Earth.”

“Don't say that about yourself,” he instantly said, the moment she finished. “You know that's not true!”

“Yeah, you're right. My browser history probably takes that spot over me any day,” she half-joked. Yoosung blinked stupidly at her before letting out a snort.

“Lilly, we were talking about something serious. You always do this!” he mock whined.

“Always do what? You know, you haven't gotten any Honey Buddha Chips in a while,” Lilly reminded him, tossing some in his general direction. He narrowly caught it, the bag almost landing in a dirty puddle.

“Watch where you're throwing things,” he drawled, hugging the junk food close to him. “These chips are worth a lot,” he added, pouting childishly.

“Whoops, my bad,” she replied, laughing when he nudged her with his elbow. She was honestly just glad she had been able to change the subject.

 

Lilly yawned and stretched out over her couch. Today was stressful and classes were excruciatingly long. She was so tired by the end of it that she didn't even bother meeting up with Yoosung, walking back by herself. She just wanted to relax and watch a movie with her brother, while also occasionally texting Rina.

She was sending Rina a funny cat photo when her screen suddenly switched to a call prompt, annoying her. She became confused when Seven's name came up, 'Luciel Choi’ displayed over a profile picture of what appeared to be a computer monitor. Okay, she was slightly less irritated now, she thought, placing some popcorn into Castiel’s outstretched hand. She then hit accept call, trudging towards the bathroom so she wouldn't bother her brother while he watched a movie.

“You have dialed the self destruct hotline, your phone will explode in approximately five seconds,” Lilly teased in a robotic voice, closing the bathroom door behind her and leaning against it. “Five,” she added, beginning the countdown.

“Gah no, how do I stop it?” he said, pretending to be scared but failing miserably as he ended up giggling near the end.

“Four~”

“No, Lilly have mercy. I’m innocent, I swear!”

“Three…” She purposefully drew that one out. “Zero!”

“What? You didn’t even count properly!”

“Boom!” She yelled, laughing along with him. She gripped her stomach as she did, the door creaking with her added weight pressing against it. “I was too lazy, what do ya want?” she asked, drawing out the words annoyingly. She could tell he sounded tired, but his laughter was genuine. In a way the exhaustion struck her with an immense feeling of worry, though she was quick to brush it off. You've only known this guy a few days, calm down, she told herself.

“I called because I heard from Yoosung that you ran into some spooky guy at school,” he explained, Lilly hearing him thump and move around on the other end. She could faintly hear the sound of a crinkling bag.

“Yoosung's gossiping about me? Rude,” Lilly joked, yawning quietly. “What about it?” Gosh, was she tired.

“I wanted to know if you're okay,” he admitted, his voice switching to a tone of worry. Hmm, that was new, she thought. “It didn't have anything to do with the RFA did it?” He wondered aloud. He sounded almost as if he was mumbling more to himself rather than asking her.

“No I'm not, I was stabbed nine times in the chest with a nonexistent knife and than I was kidnapped by my own two legs and brought home,” Lilly replied sarcastically, she heard him snicker in response but not until after he took in a shaky breath. She had tricked him, if only for a second.

“I knew you were in danger! As the defender of justice it is my job to come to your aid!” He exclaimed excitedly.

“My hero~”

“Yes, haha!...after I finish all this work, which is never ending,” he whined. “Why must I have been born a slave?”

“My offer to help still stands~” she singsonged, doing a little dance as she did. “Or you can work for me, I pay in chips and cuddles,” she continued with a laugh.

“Such a tempting offer! But no, I must decline,” he replied, trying his best to sound cheerful yet disappointed.

“But in all seriousness, I'm fine, I think he was a fan of my MeTube videos or something,” she explained, rubbing a finger across her chin.

“I'm a fan too! Give me more videos oh, cute Lilly.” Cute, Lilly? She repeated in her mind.

“How about I give you a special video~” She said in a suggestive tone before bursting into a fit of laughter when he began choking on his own spit. “Just kidding, two special videos. One wouldn't be enough.”

“No, one is too much as it is!”

“Hmm, but they don't cost money. Okay, half a one, this is my final offer~”

“Gah! No! None at all!” Lilly was smiling broadly, unable to wipe the happiness from her face. Seven was fun to joke around with and he always indulged her in her sense of humor. He seemed like a fun person in general.

“No need to be embarrassed, babe~” she drawled before quickly changing the subject. “So, what are you up to? Eating chips for dinner?”

“How'd you know, babe~?” he mocked.

“Cause I'm right behind you!” She heard him shuffle like he was turning around to check.

“What? I can't see you. Gahhh, don't tell me you're that lone chip on the ground!”

“You almost stepped on me this morning! I was so scared!” Lilly replied, playing along.

“I'm sorry, chip Lilly, please forgive me” he said, pretending to cry. She had to laugh, he was such an idiot.

The two of them chatted for literal hours, neither shutting up for a second. Lilly swore she was dying with his every joke, her throat dry and scratchy from talking non-stop for so long. They moved from topic to topic, jumping all over the place; and even though they were both exhausted, when they spoke, it was as if they were high on multiple substances.

Lilly became upset when it had to end, whining about how she wanted to talk with him forever. It was an offhand comment but it gave Seven pause and she was confused as to why. She heard his breathing pick up and him thump around almost nervously. Was it too soon to say something like that? She thought they were hitting it off pretty well. Though before she could ask, he quickly said goodbye in his normally cheerful tone and hung up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tumblr: [@aromaticboar](https://aromaticboar.tumblr.com)  
> Ko-fi: [@Xenolith](https://ko-fi.com/aromaticboar)


	9. Valentine's Jitters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so long with this update, I just completely lost my motivation to write. I still love this story, don't get me wrong, I just need to get my mojo back. Thanks for those of you who have been reading from the beginning, you mean a lot to me and thank you so much Lokiiwood and Robyn for beta reading this chapter. 
> 
> Tumblr: [@aromaticboar](https://aromaticboar.tumblr.com)  
> Ko-fi: [@Xenolith](https://ko-fi.com/aromaticboar)

A whole week had passed with relatively no problems. Most of Lilly's time had been allocated to studying, playing LOLOL with Yoosung or hanging around with her brother, respectively. She hadn't received any emails from guests during that period like she had been expecting, but that wasn't really her problem so she didn't particularly care. She mostly ignored the RFA chat room altogether, since she had better things to do than watch Zen and Jumin argue; which was usually about how different they were from each other. She didn't quite understand that though, as she and Rina couldn't be any further apart from one another when it came to their pasts and potential futures, but they got along just fine.

Well, everything was going smoothly, anyway, until Valentine's Day finally reared its ugly head around. Then Lilly went into a panic as she realized she had promised Yoosung that dance. Why had she thought that was a good idea again? Why had she agreed? Why was she nervous in the first place? She asked herself as she figured out how in the hell one makes homemade chocolates.

On Valentine's Day the women were supposed to give out chocolates, right? Then on White Day, the men would give back? Or was that just in Japan? Why did it have to be so confusing?! She thought, slamming her tray of messed up chocolates down on the counter. Apparently homemade chocolates were more meaningful, from what she had looked up, but were they ever tedious and annoying to make. She already hated cooking and this wasn't helping her drive. Whatever, Yoosung gets trashy Valentine's chocolates, she seethed as she began to scoop them into a decorative bag before tying it shut with a ribbon. It's not like he had standards anyway, saying yes to her of all people.

“Lilly? Can I have one?” Castiel asked from the other side of her kitchen island. His small hands were pressed down on the dark marble while giving her an expectant look with his large blue eyes. Her heart instantly melted, more so than the extra chocolate she currently held between her digits. She nodded, giving the tiny redhead a few pieces and causing him to smile brightly. He munched happily on them almost instantly, while Lilly moved to toss all the dishes into the sink. Ugh, she wished she could hire someone to do that for her later.

She turned on the tap, filling the sink with cold water. The dishes became submerged in the brown, murky liquid and some chunks of food that she was honestly confused on where they originated from. Eh, who cares, she'll deal with that later. If anyone asks, they were soaking.

She plopped herself on her couch, grabbing her phone off the coffee table. What to do, what to do, she thought as she opened up the RFA messenger app. Seeing as she hadn't been bothering her new ‘friends’ recently, she should definitely do that.

“Lilly🖤 has entered the chatroom”

 **707** : Look who it is~  
**707** : Legend has it, that she's our esteemed party coordinator

 **Lilly** 🖤: I don't believe in legends. I'm the RFA's resident hacker, obviously. You're the party coordinator.

 **707** : I knew today was opposite day!

 **Zen** : No, today's Valentine's Day and I'm still as single as I was last year. Also hey, Lilly, how are you? ^^  
**Zen** : What the hell is opposite day, anyway?

 **Jaehee** : At least it's the weekend, though that hardly changes much for me.  
**Jaehee** : Hello, Lilly.

 **Lilly** 🖤: I see only one solution to your problem, Zen.

 **Zen** : Get a girlfriend?

 **Lilly** 🖤: Lol, no.  
**Lilly** 🖤: I should go out with, Seven.

 **Zen** : How does that solve anything?

 **Lilly** 🖤: Well, it is opposite day.

 **707** : lolol, I'm so excited for our date!  
**707** : Meet me at the space station.

 **Lilly** 🖤: I'll bring my best spacesuit.

 **707** : lolololol

 **Zen** : -_-  
**Zen** : You and Seven already get along so well. I'm almost jealous.

 **Jaehee** : I'm glad that Lilly is...fitting in.

 **707** : Hmmm~ Getting along? You think so? Lilly is hilarious.

 **Lilly** 🖤: Hilarious? I just say whatever comes to mind. I think you're fun though, Seven. I'll talk to you often haha.

 **Zen** : What about me, babe?

 **707** : She likes me better!

 **Zen** : She never said that. -_-

 **Lilly** 🖤: Oh, you're right, Zen. I'm sorry.  
**Lilly** 🖤: I like Seven better.

 **707** : Ahahaha! I didn't think you would say it!

 **Jaehee** : Alright, let's change the subject.

Lilly spent the next half an hour chatting. In that time she shifted around the couch, constantly, unable to sit still. One moment she was laying normally, the next she was hanging upside down with her legs sticking into the air. It was more comfortable when she could switch into awkward positions. She began to wonder if it would be fun to chat while doing a handstand. Nah, probably not.

She was sad Seven was the first one who had to leave, stating he had work to finish up so he could take a nap. It irritated her to no end that she couldn’t interact with him outside of this chatroom, with only occasional texts and phone calls. She wanted to be close friends with him, and this arrangement was starting to become increasingly annoying. She sighed, leaving the chatroom as well and throwing her phone across the coffee table with a clack. She never had anyone who she could just play with. It was always, ‘Lilly, stop making those jokes, they are inappropriate,’ she thought, mocking Rina’s tone of voice in her head. It was even worse when they became mad at her.

On the other hand, this Seven guy was giving her so much slack, and she planned to take his inch and transform it into a mile. That was just what she did best.

She almost fell to the floor when her doorbell rung, causing her to sit there in shock for a few seconds while she tried to process what that noise was. The moment she did, she was on her feet, bounding towards the front door. “Coming!” She alerted whoever was on the other side, as she stopped to check through the peephole. Oh, it was just the mail guy...wait! It’s the mail guy! She practically ripped the door off its hinges in her haste. The poor mailman: just as she’d accepted the package, had the door slammed in his face. “Ah! It’s here!” She screamed, Castiel giving her a look from the other side of the room like she was crazy.

She slid across the floor over to the small redhead, making a goofy pose in the process and causing him to laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation. “I got my limited edition TLS dolls!” she exclaimed; holding up the package like the main character of an adventure game would, when showing the player a new item they acquired. The only thing that was left was a cheerful jingle to accompany her happiness, and this moment would be complete.

 

“Ugh, life is hard, work is hard, everything is hard~” Lilly whined while walking through the C&R building next to Rina, after receiving a call that she needed help with some computer related issues at work. Her doll excitement had unfortunately been short-lived In fact, she didn’t even get to see every surprise it came with! The horror!

“You’re just whining because I called you while you were ‘ _busy_ ’,” her friend replied with air quotations around the last word. The cardboard box in the smaller of the two’s hands rattled with various office supplies.

“I was busy, thank you very much,” the computer science student countered, matter-of-factly. “Why am I lugging around your things, anyway? Don’t you have an assistant for that?” she added, glaring at her through opaque lenses.

“My assistant has better things to do than to waste his time on carrying boxes around for me. And you seem to be holding out just fine,” Rina retorted, adjusting her ponytail as her heels clicked against the tiled flooring. Lilly’s mismatched eyes glanced over her form, noting her very businesslike attire. She always wore expensive clothing, but right now she had more of a professional air about her than when she was simply out and about.

“What is your boy toy up to? Don’t you have Valentine’s Day plans outside of work?” She teased, smirking mischievously up at the taller woman.

“Lilly, I will hit you,” the older of the two seethed, raising a clenched fist subtly at her side. The brunette side-eyed the threat with amusement twinkling behind her orbs, knowing full well that she couldn’t do anything at work.

“Though I guess it’s forever alone day for you, isn’t it? My bad~” She winked when Rina blushed, clearly becoming flustered at the fact that she didn’t have a romantic partner. “Oh Rina, when will you ever learn? You still have much to learn, my young pupil,” Lilly added, waggling her index finger for a moment, before quickly catching the box in her hands and nearly dropping it.

“Would you shut up? Stop discussing my relationship status,” Rina started angrily, glaring daggers at her companion. “Also I'm older than you. Young pupil - yeah right,” she finished with a roll of her eyes.

Lilly opened her mouth to reply when she was knocked over, dropping the box to the ground with a hard thud. Office supplies clattering to the floor, the brunette growled angrily under her breath. Someone cleared their throat as though it might substitute for an apology.

“Ms. Han, I'm sorry to...interrupt,” a male employee piped up, standing before the shorter of the two women, who was crouched over, picking up all the dropped supplies. “But I require your opinion on something crucial to one of our current projects,” he stated, nose up in the air, like he was above everyone around him in some way.

“If this has to do with the computer related issues, I already have someone on it,” Rina explained as Lilly hauled herself back up, shooting the rude stranger a displeased look. “Are you okay, Lilly?” she asked, worriedly.

“ _Peachy_ ,” was the short brunette's response, deciding to speak in English for once rather than Korean. Rina shook her head, turning back to her employee.

“No, it's something else,” he responded, the older woman letting out a sigh.

“Alright, can you wait here, Lilly? Don't wander off or do anything stupid, I'll be right back,” she informed before following the ill-mannered male.

“You say that like I'll listen~” the heterochromatic woman teased, as her childhood friend gave her a stern look while she sauntered off.

Lilly glanced around, taking in the many office rooms and cubicles surrounding her. Her eyes eventually landing on a bench off to the side, near a drooping plant with palm-like leaves, that clearly needed some water. She tsked, clicking her tongue against the roof of her mouth in disapproval; while she plopped the office supplies down on the seat she had just found. She pulled a water bottle out of her bag and offered the poor, neglected foliage something to drink. “There, I hope you enjoy that. Sucks when people abandon you and leave you helpless like that, huh?” She mumbled while the soil soaked up the cool liquid greedily. She capped the clear container in her hands after emptying it about halfway, not wanting to drown the roots.

“Mmmm....” She stretched her back up with a pop, putting her beverage away as her gaze landed on two familiar figures walking side by side. Hmmm~? This could be fun! She thought, glancing between Jumin and who she assumed was Jaehee. At least she looked like her profile picture.

“Yo! Jumin and Jaehee! Ha~ it's funny meeting you here~” They both turned their attention up from a clipboard, over towards her, while she waved like an idiot. They seemed confused as to who she was at first, and probably why she was the only one dressed in streetwear, while everyone else wore very formal business attire. That was until Jaehee's face dawned with realization, and the corporate heir made a small hum of recognition.

“Lilly?” Jaehee asked unsurely as the other two closed the distance between them. The smaller of the three smirked and adjusted her glasses in response, as they were close to falling from her nose.

“In the flesh~” she singsonged, winking cheekily. “How's work going? You two super busy?” She asked, tilting her head slightly.

“We actually just got out of a meeting, but this isn't a place for visitors. How did you get in here?” Jaehee replied, brown eyes looking over the shorter woman's form. When her gaze landed on Lilly's employee pass she paused. “You work here?”

“Sometimes~” the brunette replied, turning her attention to Jumin. He was regarding her with a look she couldn't quite discern. “Jumin! You're looking good today!” She exclaimed, making finger guns at him as some passing employees gave her a look like she had lost a few too many marbles. Eh, maybe she had, but she was having fun, so what did it matter?

He blinked, staring at her hand gestures for a second as if processing it before his lips upturned slightly. “Thanks, so are you,” he responded, imitating her actions, albeit more awkwardly. Lilly burst out laughing, while Jaehee gave him a look that made the mischievous, heterochromatic woman snort a few times. The older man's assistant gaped at him like Lilly's ‘insanity’ had become contagious.

“Oh my god, you're hilarious,” she got out between sharp intakes of air. “I already like you so much, Jumin,” she admitted cheerfully. “Not that I don't like you, Jaehee~” the older woman seemed taken aback slightly when she was suddenly addressed, clearing her throat to rid herself of her slight bashfulness at such a statement.

“Well, I am quite an extraordinary person, so I understand,” Jumin joked, attempting to maintain the playful atmosphere for just a smidge longer.

Lilly couldn't ignore the small smile playing on his features, sticking out her tongue for a second.

“Hah, it's always good to have confidence in yourself. I hope for you to never lose that,” was her response. The corporate heir's smile faded, as he gave her a look like he was trying to understand her inner workings. Almost as if she was something profound and interesting, never before seen. “What? Was I too out of character with that one? I'll switch back to joking around~”

“No, it was just...unexpected,” he explained, eyebrows knitting together momentarily before relaxing. “You're...strange, Lilly. But I feel almost compelled to know more about you because of this.”

“Hmm?” Lilly hummed, tilting her head to the side like a curious dog. “Not really, would probably be a waste of your time,” she replied as his assistant cleared her throat, causing them both to turn their attention towards her.

“Well it is nice to be able to meet you in person, Lilly,” she said, the younger woman smirking and giving her a peace sign in response. “This actually gives me a better chance to fill out your RFA member information sheet.”

“There’s an information sheet? Why?” the computer science student inquired, scratching the back of her neck and stuffing her free hand into her pocket. “I can’t really run off, I’m waiting on someone. She’ll get pissy at me if I just up and leave.”

“We’re on a tight schedule as well, so I’ll just jot it down,” she answered, clicking a pen from the pocket of her top as she moved to ask her first question. “Your email?”

“Uh… ‘ _Lilly_Churchill@noogle.com_ ’,” she answered lamely, glancing towards Jumin who had taken out his phone to text someone. She blinked when her own phone went off, taking it out to glance over it and snickering when it was from the very man standing before her. Seriously? He was a lot more humorous then she first pegged him out to be.

“Alright, Birthday?” She asked, Lilly giving her a look.

“Didn’t Seven do a background check on me or something? Don’t you already know this?”

“If he did, he didn’t tell me anything,” she quickly countered, the smallest of the three letting out a long drawn out breath.

“December twentieth,” she finally answered, the other woman’s eyes widening for a second as she jotted this information down.

“Oh, our birthdays are only eight days apart…” she commented.

“Woo! Christmas babies for the win!” Lilly cheered enthusiastically as the other woman blushed embarrassedly at her sudden outburst, onlookers turning towards them for a second to see what the commotion was about. She nudged Jaehee with an elbow, grinning from ear to ear when her action elicited a short laugh. The taller woman telling her to cut it out, “aw, come on, cheer up a little. Smiling is a healthy part of everyone’s day~”

Jaehee was quick to brush her arm away, clearing her throat while she turned back to the clipboard in her hand. “Speaking of birthdays...Lilly, how old are you exactly?” She asked, growling under her breath when the heterochromatic woman’s phone went off, once more. “Mr. Han, is it really appropriate to text Lilly when she’s standing right in front of you?” the brown-eyed woman stated with a displeased look.

“I didn’t wish to interrupt your conversation,” he replied nonchalantly, glancing towards his phone as his lips upturned into a small smirk. “This is a cute cat.” Jaehee let out an irritated huff, blinking when Lilly’s name was called out.

“Lilly! I’m back, sorry about that.” The smallest of the group turned towards Rina as she strutted over, holding a small stack of papers, her heels clicking along the floor beneath her. “I hope you didn’t get into any trouble -” she scolded but was cut off when her amethyst orbs landed on the corporate heir and his assistant. “M - Mr. Han…” She stuttered out.

“Oh, Rina,” He said, acknowledging her presence. “I wasn’t aware that you were in acquaintance with Lilly.”

“I wasn’t aware you two were introduced either,” She replied, glaring daggers at her childhood friend, who shrugged her shoulders in response. Rina had a look on her face that read, ‘I’m so going to kill you later.’ It wasn’t like she made a sore impression, Jumin even laughed.

“Yeah, me and Jumin really hit if off,” Lilly said sarcastically, winking at him. She could tell her friend had stiffened up like a board, probably in response to how casual she was being with someone like him. “Right, Jumin?!” She exclaimed teasingly, nudging the air in front of him with her elbow. Huh, Jaehee was also giving her a look, was it that strange? The older male offered her a peace sign in reply, mocking her from earlier as she let out a loud laugh.

“Well - uh - we should be off, Lilly has a lot of work she needs to get done,” Rina said through grit teeth and a forced smile.

“Huh? I do? Thought it was just something sm -” Lilly choked on her own spit as she suddenly felt a sharp pain burning through foot. Her friend's heel just about pierced straight through her right shoe. She glared at said friend in annoyance while Jumin regarded her with a strange expression. “Yeah, I guess I do have a ton of work to do,” the short heterochromatic woman corrected herself sarcastically; letting out a long puff of air while she moved her arms behind her head, to act almost like a pillow for her neck. She received another nudge from Rina for her less than formal posture. Lilly rolled her eyes from behind her glasses, instead positioning her arms at her sides.

“Lilly, I'll see you on the messenger tonight then?” Jumin asked, casually adjusting the sleeve of his suit jacket. Lilly nodded, grinning happily from ear to ear.

“I'll see all y'all, laters~” she singsonged in English rather than Korean, smirking when Jumin also used an English send-off. “I'll answer your questions tomorrow, Jaehee,” she added, carrying her box of office supplies once more while she walked next to her childhood friend.

Once they were at a respectable distance, Rina was quick to turn to Lilly and ask the heck was going on between Jumin Han (of all people), her cousin, and her.

“Messenger? What messenger? Why did you think it was a good idea to act like such a moron in front of him?!” She interrogated the smaller woman, anger seeping its way into her tone of voice. Lilly ignored her, opening the door to the older woman’s office space while they stepped in and shut it behind them. “You were the one who said you wanted a potential job here in the future, then you act like that?” She growled while her brown-haired companion set her supplies down on the nearest table, staying aware of the documents and various office clutter spread across it.

“Act like what? He didn’t seem too bothered. I think you’re just overreacting,” Lilly replied, casually moving to plop herself down in front of the nearest computer. Her nimble digits ran across the keyboard with a practiced finesse, as glowing green lines of code flashed across the monitor before her. Multiple windows opened with various strings of symbols that the heterochromatic woman seemed very much accustomed to. Her expression became one of boredom while the clicks of a mouse could be heard, filling the room. The occasional murmurs could be heard from the other side of Rina's office door, but otherwise, the area around them was relatively quiet.

“He was probably just being polite,” the older woman argued, leaning against the desk next to her computer whiz of a friend. Lilly's tongue stuck out slightly while she thought, staring intensely at the screen before her. The action elicited a laugh from her grumpy companion, the university student glancing in her direction momentarily in response to the sound. “You look almost cute when you do that,” she said, shaking her head. “Almost…”

“Do what?” Lilly replied, voice slurred by her tongue and forcing her to realize what the other was talking about. “Oh, whoops, hah~” she didn't suck it back in, however, even after realizing what she was doing. “Anyway, he doesn't seem like the type.”

“The type to what?”

“To care about some nobody's feelings. He's like a CEO, remember? I ain't forwarding his company,” Lilly explained, small pink organ still lolled out of her mouth while Rina scolded her to put it back where it belonged.

“I guess...just be less _you_ around the people you're trying to impress, okay?” She warned, hands at her hips.

“I impressed you, didn't I?” She argued sarcastically, laughing when her office worker friend, rolled her eyes.

“Don't get me started on that one.” A small period of silence spread between them, the only sounds being the tap-tap of a keyboard and the rustling of papers Rina was looking through.

“Hey, Rina, anyway,” Lilly started, breaking the silence as she always did. “You think you could get me a soda? Specifically sparkling lemonade!”

“No, I'll get you some lemon water instead. You drink too much of that garbage,” the larger of the two replied, heels clicking as she made her way towards the exit.

“What?! That's rude!?” Lilly exclaimed, pouting at the device sitting before her.

“You're welcome,” was her response as the door shut with an audible clack.

 

Lilly swallowed thickly, staring at herself in the mirror. When was the last time she had dressed so formally? She couldn't even remember. Maybe it was that fundraising party Rina had invited her to over a year ago. Ugh, maybe she should just change back into her hooded sweatshirt and jean skirt. Something besides the frilly blouse, thigh high stockings and lacy skirt. When did she even buy these? It was so not her style.

The heterochromatic woman let out a sigh, putting her glasses down on her dresser. After she had finished her work with her bitchy childhood friend, she realized she only had an hour to get ready for the outing with Yoosung she had agreed to. She ended up running home in a hurry, barely registering her brother’s greeting at the door when she sauntered in.

“Big sis? Are you going somewhere fancy?” Speak of the devil, she thought, turning to look towards her redheaded sibling. His large blue eyes were looking her over curiously, an odd sort of fascination etched across his face. “You look pretty~” He complimented, dancing momentarily on the balls of his feet.

“Really? You think?” She asked with a chuckle, blinking when Castiel closed the gap between them to push her bangs aside. Both her eyes were in plain view now, almost making her give into the urge of covering her green one up. Instead, she grinned stupidly, not wanting to worry her sibling. “What was that for, huh?”

“You look better with both your eyes showing,” he explained, nodding at her. No, she really didn't. She felt so - wrong - with both of them out for all to see. It was a problem that had stemmed from her childhood, and something she didn't want to go into at this very moment. Already a nervous wreck, she didn't need to become a depressed nervous wreck.

“Thanks, I'll keep that in mind, bud,” she lied, moving in a way that seemed unintentional so that they would fall back into place.

Should she wear her glasses, or should she not wear her glasses? She debated internally, opening a drawer filled to the brim with various eyewear in different styles, shapes and sizes. She had one for every occasion, even the goofy kind.

“I like these ones,” Castiel suddenly piped up next to her, reaching in and pulling out a pair of brown, thin rimmed glasses. They looked so...professional, when had she even bought these? Did Rina secretly stuff things into her wardrobe? Because half of this stuff she couldn't remember getting. Then again, she constantly bought random items without thinking, so maybe that was it. She pretended to be angry for a second, anyway, before taking them from the smaller's palm.

“Yeah, great idea~ You're really helping a girl out here,” she replied playfully, smirking when he giggled. “How was your day, by the way?” the older of the two asked, placing them upon her nose.

“Uh, it was okay. I played the new game you got me, Kingdom Spades Three, it's really good,” he explained, smiling brightly. “You should watch me sometime!” the short crimson haired boy suggested excitedly.

“How about tomorrow morning?” She replied, winking while she leaned towards the mirror before her, trying in vain to apply some makeup properly. Ugh, it looks like ass, this is why she never wore this stuff. Why was she getting so dolled up anyway? It wasn't a date or anything, they were just going as friends.

The grip on her eyeliner grew tighter subconsciously until she felt as if she were about to burst the inky black liquid all over her form. Instead, she put it down, taking a moment to calm herself before trying again. Sometimes it paid to take a moment and just step back from her problems. She almost jabbed her mismatched orbs out with it, however, when the buzzer suddenly went off.

“I'll get it!” Castiel informed cheerfully, small feet padding towards the intercom. Lilly groaned, listening to her brother mumbling to the person on the other end before he pressed what sounded like the button to unlock the entrance to the complex.

Lilly pushed her glasses back up her nose, throwing her makeup aside as she made her way to the living room to grab her bag. Would she really need her bag? She contemplated, almost dropping it in a panic when she heard a familiar voice behind her.

“L - Lilly?” The short brunette woman turned to greet a blonde haired male. Their eyes meeting as a soft pink hue stained her cheeks. She was like a deer caught in headlights, gaping at Yoosung while her eyes roamed over the outfit he was wearing. Cute suspenders, small bowtie - it was so adorable she could hardly stand it!

“You look good,” they both blurted out simultaneously, coughing in embarrassment when they had spoken over each other. Though a second later, Yoosung was quick to snicker, covering his mouth with his hand while she was offered a bouquet of tulips. She carefully took it, giving him a confused look like she was astounded by the fact that he would give her such a thing.

“Happy Valentine's Day,” he whispered fondly, eyes half-lidded as he gazed at her with a sort of look that had her heart soaring into her throat.

“I - I -” she stuttered stupidly, glaring at Castiel when the redheaded boy giggled mockingly at how flustered she was. “I made you chocolates!” She finally shouted, way louder than she had intended. Gosh, Lilly, indoor voice, there was no need to scream, she scolded herself; feeling the sudden urge to slam the palm of her hand into her face.

Her eyes widened when Yoosung burst out into a fit of laughter over her change in behavior. “You're so cute~” he teased, mocking her usual playful tone. She opened her mouth and closed it again like a fish out of water, trying to come up with some kind of witty retort only for her brain to pull a blank.

“Sh - shut up!” She stuttered, glancing around rapidly in mock anger. “I'll - I'll bite you!”

“Really?” His tone sounded almost hopeful.

“Don't answer with that!” She growled, pouting while he chuckled at her expense, before stomping her way towards the kitchen to retrieve the gift she had thrown so much time into. She also placed the flowers in a vase, deeming it not necessary to carry them around. She’d put them on her desk later, for now, next to sink would do.

“You do really look good, by the way, I’m not just saying that,” the blonde mumbled shyly while she pulled the neatly wrapped gift from atop her kitchen counter.

“Huh? I can’t hear you, speak up!” a lie, but she hated when he got all shy around her like this. You’re not going to get far in life with half-assed whispers and nervous twiddling of thumbs. You had to take life by its horns and slam its goddamn head into the ground repeatedly, or it would only do the same to you. It wasn’t a fair game, nor a fair world. Ugh, why was she going off about this now on Valentine’s Day of all days?

“I - I said you look really good!” He exclaimed, closing his eyes shut tight as he said it, like he didn’t want to see her face while the words slipped past his lips.

“Well I think...here are your chocolates…” she replied, dropping the small colorful cloth bag into the palm of his hands. “Now let's go to that dance, valentine,” the short brunette added with a wink, glad to get a bit of her usual bravado back.

The way to the event was filled with small talk and gentle smiles, while Lilly stared up at the sky through the window of the taxi she had called, rain dripping down the clear glass in long threads. The car hummed below her while she wondered why it had to rain on a day full of love like this. Maybe it cried for the people who had no one? Though she had Castiel whether or not she possessed friends, she knew some people didn’t even have family to spend it with. Maybe she would also mourn for people like that, she thought, shaking her head, nah.

Turning to the phone in her grasp, she texted Saeran once more. She got very sparse answers from her childhood friend, the one she had met through a blonde haired woman. What was her name again? Come to think of it, the leader of the RFA was familiar in a way she couldn’t quite put her finger on, whatever. All she knew was that she wanted to wish someone special a happy Valentine’s Day, even if he was away at school.

“I hope you have a good Valentine’s day <3” she typed, not expecting to get a reply. Though she was pleasantly surprised when she did, smiling fondly as she was sent a picture of a red rose in between familiar thin fingers.

“For you~” the text read. Lilly grinned, shaking her head, as they exchanged a few more texts, he seemed to go MIA once again. She sighed, wishing there was something further she could do to connect with him. But he seemed adamant that their contact continue as short exchanges of messages. She missed running off when they weren’t supposed to, away from his mother, away from the world; and bringing him gifts, bearing witness to those bright golden eyes which would light up with joy in response or even just laughing at the dumbest things. Well, now wasn’t exactly the time to reminisce as the heterochromatic woman turned her attention towards her blonde companion. She noticed he was now fiddling around nervously, probably from her lack of social interaction with him.

“You excited?” She asked, voice gentle and smooth. His amethyst pools turned to gaze at her while he nodded his head, and she winked playfully in reply. Face turning red, he cleared his throat, not appearing affected. In fact, he seemed rather amused.

“Thanks for the chocolates, no one’s ever made me them for Valentine’s before,” he said, his tone laced with a hint of gratefulness. She chuckled at how cute he sounded, while he admired the gift she had given him.

“Even if they look like garbage?”

“They're not garbage!” He instantly retorted. She raised her hands in front of her, in a gesture that meant she was taking back what had already been said; waving them slightly, before placing them back on her lap. “You know Lilly, I kind of wonder why you bothered to talk to me at all.”

“You're right, me too. Cause if I remember correctly, our entire friendship is based off of your greed for mooching chips from of me.”

“What?!” He exclaimed, causing her to burst into a fit of laughter.

“Don't pretend you don't know. You think I'm not aware of your plans, Yoosung Kim?” She asked, squinting her eyes at him and crossing her arms like she actually cared about any of this.

He gave her a look, like his brain was processing what she just said. “You're right, I am only here for the chips. The chips I haven't gotten any of, in a week!” the medical student retorted, jabbing her nose with his pointer finger.

“Hmmm...likely story…” she giggled when he began to tickle her, forcing her to shove him away in order to get him to stop. “How dare you attack me! I'll have you know I'm rank thirteen on the shooting star server.”

“I'm rank two,” he teased, sticking his tongue out childishly.

“Yeah well -” she was cut off as the car came to a stop, forcing them to pay for their trip and make their way into the large party hall; running despite their shoes not being made for such a task, to avoid getting drenched by the rain.

Lilly blinked the moment they stepped into the music filled hall, eyes wandering the crowd as she took in all the people attending. The place was drenched in darkness, decorative lights sparsely strung about, shaped in little hearts and shining the colors of the holiday. Everyone looked so well dressed, so prim and proper. A few couples already dancing which prompted the short brunette to immediately want to get in on the awkward action.

“Hey, Yoosung,” she began, elbowing him in the ribs. “Let's go dance, I want to laugh as we step on each other's feet,” she announced, grinning from ear to ear.

“Why would that be funny?” He whined, rubbing the spot the computer science student had so ‘politely’ jabbed.

“Cause neither of us knows how to dance, but damn it if I'm not trying anyway!” She yelled, raising her voice over the blaring sounds of music and guests chattering. Gripping Yoosung's hands, she tugged him towards the nearest open space, his expression morphing to that of surprise momentarily. Shuffling and moving through bodies of people with an almost expert level finesse.

“Lilly...would you wait up…” Yoosung whined, arm held out as the shorter of the two tugged him along.

“Okay um...I think it goes a little something like…” she lowered his hand towards her hips, his breath hitching in his throat at the new contact, while she drew herself into his personal space. Her arms flung themselves around his neck, and Lilly tried to adjust her position. Grinning as they developed a rhythm, the two swayed gently from side to side. “There, this'll do…” she muttered, their eyes locking.

“L - Lilly - I - I uh…” he started, glancing to the side for a second before focusing on her again. “I want to thank you for coming…”

“Hmmm? I want to thank you for making me come…” they fell into a soothing silence, simply gazing at each other while they danced wordlessly. This moment felt like it could never be broken. For the first time, Lilly felt like this was almost worth all her hassle. Then she purposely stepped on his foot - after all, this dance wasn’t allowed to be too perfect.

“Ow! Lilly!”

“Haha!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tumblr: [@aromaticboar](https://aromaticboar.tumblr.com)  
> Ko-fi: [@Xenolith](https://ko-fi.com/aromaticboar)


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